From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places that we believe will be of interest to our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in MedPage Today on June 15. In the op-ed, David J. Langer, MD, FAANS, recounts a life-changing accident during a ski trip that resulted in a spinal cord injury and a feeling of powerlessness for the practicing neurosurgeon and star on the Netflix series Lenox Hill. Read More
From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places that we believe will be of interest to our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in The American Spectator on May 21. In the op-ed, neurosurgeons Richard Menger, MD, MPA and Anthony M. DiGiorgio, DO, MHA voice their support of Louisiana HB 941, a bill in the Louisiana State Legislature that would allow only spine surgeons to perform spine surgery. Read More
Working with patient advocates is important for neurosurgeons and neurosurgeons in training. While neurosurgeons help patients through clinical work and conduct innovative research to advance treatment options, advocacy can have an outsized impact on patients across the U.S. Neurosurgeons who participate in patient advocacy gain a better understanding of the priorities of patients, their families and those who care about them. Read More
From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting pieces from other publications that are worthy of sharing with our readers. Since we are in the middle of our focus series on tumors, we wanted to bring attention to an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on May 19. Alan R. Cohen, MD, FACS, FAAP, FAANS, discusses recent changes to the classification and management of brain tumors in children. In 2021, the World Health Organization introduced changes in brain tumor taxonomy, emphasizing molecular diagnostic features. These changes reflect the trend of assigning diagnostic categories based on genetic features that, in many cases, drive prognosis and offer potential targets for treatment. Read More
Neurosurgery has a long history of mentorship through a trainee’s dedicated time under a more experienced surgeon’s tutelage. Surgical training has long been considered a more advanced form of apprenticeship, mastering a skill under a more experienced practitioner’s guidance. In this tradition, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center — part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine — has launched an International Neuro-oncology Scholars Program (INOSP) that allows neurosurgery trainees to join internationally renowned brain tumor experts in other countries to increase their experience. Read More
In 2012, the Neurosurgeon Research Career Development Program (NRCDP) set a goal to grow a diverse corps of neurosurgeon scientists at institutions across the United States. The Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the CNS Foundation became early partners in this effort by establishing the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)/CNS Getch K12 Scholar Award, named in honor of the CNS Past President Christopher C. Getch, MD, FAANS, a respected 
neurosurgeon, friend and leader, who passed away unexpectedly soon after his presidency. Read More
The recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighted socioeconomic differences in health care access detrimental to the outcome, including a per capita excess mortality highest among the Black and Latino population. The prognostic role of socioeconomic factors for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) has been hotly debated. GBM is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults and affects 3.3 percent of pediatric brain tumor patients. The disease has made headlines in recent years with the diagnosis of high-profile political figures such as President Biden’s son Beau Biden and the late Sens. Ted Kennedy and John McCain. Significant advances in surgical and adjuvant treatments for this disease have had a positive impact on short-term survival. Yet, there is a still-very-low five-year survival rate in adults, around 5.5 percent. As new therapeutic approaches develop, prolonging short-term survival coupled with high quality of life remains a priority when caring for patients with GBM.
Recent events of systemic discrimination have led to national introspection on the importance of tolerance and diversity. The tragic killing of George Floyd in May 2020 was a sentinel event that raised awareness of the pervasive nature of systemic discrimination and served as a significant impetus for positive change. This was a clear reminder that we still face substantial challenges to tolerance and equal treatment for all as a society. It is also a unique opportunity to reflect on our common purpose as humanity.
Neurosurgery has historically been a uniquely wide-ranging and varied specialty. Unlike other specialties that focus on a particular organ system or body region, neurosurgery is quite literally a “head-to-toe” specialty dealing with the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and the other organs intimately related to the nervous system. Neurosurgeons classically had to be experts in a wide variety of surgical procedures and disease processes. As medical knowledge and technology have advanced, neurosurgeons have evolved with medicine to become experts in particular disease processes, leading to a reorganization of neurosurgery into sub-specialty disciplines.
On Oct. 25, neurosurgery lost a leader, and I lost a dear friend. Randy’s accomplishments in organized neurosurgery, especially in California, are too numerous to list and have been chronicled by others in recent days. Today, I want to tell you the main lessons Randy taught me over our decade-long friendship. Read More
