Editor: Robert M. Friedlander, MD, MA Associate Editor: Murat Gunel, MD
From the Chair Warren R. Selman, MD
What's in a Name? What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet. Romeo and Juliet, Act ii. Sc. 2.
I am honored to serve as chair of the Cerebrovascular Section, and fortunate to follow the outstanding leadership of our previous chair, Robert Harbaugh, MD. The past year witnessed the release of the results of the first randomized multicenter trial of clip and coil treatment for ruptured intracranial aneurysms.
The thoughtful analysis of this study from the leaders of the Cerebrovascular Section, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) continues to be a model for debate regarding the applicability of this study to cerebrovascular practices in North America, and the need for and relative merits of designing and implementing another trial. The relationship with our endovascular colleagues has been strengthened by open and frank discussion between the leadership and members of both organizations about these topics and other important issues facing our society.
The Joint Leadership Council of the Cerebrovascular Section and the American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology, which was formed last year, continues to examine and respond to issues that affect endovascular and microsurgical treatment of cerebrovascular disorders. We are working closely to formulate paradigms that will allow both groups to work together in a mutually beneficial way, and allow us to ensure that it is the neuroscience community that establishes best practice patterns for the care of patients with cerebrovascular disease.
Given this background, it is time to look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the coming year. With all else that occupied our thoughts last year, little notice may have been given to a small but significant change in our name. The AANS/CNS Section on Cerebrovascular Surgery quietly became the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section. I believe this name more accurately reflects the breadth and depth of our organization with respect to patient care, research, and education. While I have no intention of overlooking the advancements that our rich heritage of outstanding, innovative, and masterful surgeons have made to improve the outcomes for patients with cerebrovascular disorders, we have always been about much more than surgical treatment alone.
We do not need to look far in the past for evidence of this commitment to the care of patients with all etiologies of stroke. In 1994, Julian Hoff, MD, and Roberto Heros, MD, with the support of the AANS, forged the Brain Attack Coalition, an alliance of every major stroke care organization that continues to shape stroke prevention, care, and policy to this day. Under the passionate and influential leadership of Dr. Heros and Dr. Hoff, the coalition engaged in the solicitation of additional medical and healthcare organizations to support the Brain Attack effort. Neurosurgery remains actively engaged in the Brain Attack Coalition on projects such as the development of recommendations for Stroke Centers.
Neurosurgery, which now is represented in the coalition by members of both the AANS and the CNS, has the opportunity to work closely with all the organizations of the coalition: the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Society of Neuroradiology, the American Stroke Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the National Association of EMS Physicians, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Stroke Association, the Stroke Belt Consortium, and the Veterans Administration.
The American Stroke Association, another organization with a recent name change (it was previously known as the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association), is the largest organization in North America devoted to the prevention and treatment of all forms of cerebrovascular disorders. The Cerebrovascular Section vice chairman, Marc Mayberg, MD, is president of the American Stroke Association, and Richard Hodosh, MD, a long-standing member of our section, serves as a member of the National Stroke Advisory Council as well as the chairman of the Stroke Task Force Affiliates in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Neurosurgery's representation and leadership in these organizations underscores our commitment to lessen the burden of all forms of stroke. Neurosurgeons always have been, and will continue to be, involved in the prevention and treatment of the full spectrum of cerebrovascular disorders.
Education remains a primary goal of the Cerebrovascular Section. We will begin our educational year with two scientific sessions that will take place on Monday, Oct. 20, and Wednesday, Oct. 22, at the Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in Denver, Colo. Murat Gunel, MD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Yale School of Medicine, has organized an outstanding cerebrovascular program for this meeting. The first session will include a symposium entitled, "Surgical Anatomy of Intracranial Circulation," and will feature this year's Drake Lecturer, Arthur Day, MD, whose topic will be "The Surgical Anatomy of the MCA." Additional lectures will be delivered by Issam Awad, MD, and Hunt Batjer, MD, who will be speaking on the surgical anatomies of the paraclinoid region and basilar tip region, respectively. The second symposium, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 22, is entitled "The Essence of Cerebrovascular Surgery: Incorporating Today's Technology and the Comprehensive Stroke Center Into Practice," and will feature lectures on ischemic disease by Neil Martin, MD, arteriovenous malformations by Robert Spetzler, MD, anterior circulation aneurysms by Robert Solomon, MD, and posterior circulation aneurysms by Jacques Morcos, MD.
The vitality and growth of our section is dependent on the enthusiasm and participation of our membership. As chair of the Cerebrovascular Section, I encourage you to contact me directly at warrenselman@uhhs.com to become actively involved in our organization. I welcome your comments, and I look forward to working with you this year.