Committees Report

22 May 2023

Dear Dr Nelson Oyesiku, WFNS President,

      I am pleased to provide this updated, composite report of, to my knowledge, historically busiest WFNS Ad-Hoc Committees activities during their current 15-month tenure.
      I commend all Committee Chairs, Members and Courses/Symposiums participants for this unprecedented educational work they have provided.
      This report has been provided by individual Committee Chairs.

Publication and Web Committee. (Dr Peter Nakaji)

Re-established WFNS Website, maintains it with our Prague, CZ, WFNS Office, and services bi- monthly WFNS Newsletter with Dr. Russell Andrews.

Ethics Committee. (Dr Tiit Mathiesen)

Reviews Ethics issues on as needed basis.

Neuro-Oncology Committee (Dr Jorg-Christian Tonn and Dr Sameh El-Morsi Hassani)

Organized 8 courses (6 with physical presence/hybrid and 2 online). The course organized on February 25^th 2023 draw 6720 attendees live and online.

Spine Tumors local seminar, in collaboration with AO Spine Egypt and EWNC academy, planned to be at Fairmount Hotel Cairo, Egypt, 28th October 2022.
Third World Congress on Spine Endoscopy in collaboration with EWNC Academy, ACNS and Endoscopic Spine Foundation, India, Mumbai India, Holy Spirit Hospital, 22-25 September, 2022.

Skull Base Committee. (Dr Daniel Prevedello)

Organized 7 virtual and 1 live course.

Stereotactic/Functions Committee (Dr Ahmed Alkhani and Dr Jose Carillo-Ruiz)

Organized 5 Symposia.

Academic Webinar List:

Management of Spasticity (Oct. 2022).
Trigeminal Neuralgia (Dec. 2022).
Radiosurgery for Pituitary Lesions (Feb. 2023).
Surgery for Psychiatric Disorders (Mar. 2023)

Global Neurosurgery Committee (Dr Kee Park)

Organized 5 Symposia

The Committee meets every three months via Zoom. The agenda includes:
1. Updates from the Chair
2. Updates from each team leads
The meeting schedule is below:
- AUG 2022, WED, 11am – 12:30pm
- OCT 2022, WED, 11am – 12:30pm
- DEC 2022, WED, 11am – 12:30pm
- FEB 2023, WED, 11am – 12:30pm
In addition to the committee meetings, each team holds regular team meetings and two special ad hoc teams have been formed:
1. Afghanistan team - meets weekly
2. Sierra Leone team - meets every 2-3 weeks
The strategic plan of the Global Neurosurgery Committee (2021-23) will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Global Neurosurgery this year.

Education Committee (Dr Luis Borba and Dr Satoshi Kuroda)

Organized 6 live and 20 online courses

Location	Dates	Title	Organizer
Mexico	Aug 25-29 2022	Hands-On Skull Base Surgery	Education Committee
Portugal	Sep 29-Oct 2 2022	Annual Course for Residents & Young Neurosurgeons of Portugal & Spain	Portuguese Neurosurgical Society
Mexico	Oct 13-15 2022	Update on Meningiomas	Mexican Neurosurgery Society
USA	Nov 19 & 20 2022	CLAN Pre-meeting Course	FLANC (CLAN) Education Committee
Egypt	Dec 13-15 2022	MANS Pre-meeting Course	Egyptian Neurosurgical Society

Topic	Dates	Organizer
Neurosurgical Update to Young Neurosurgeons and Medical Students	Monthly	Educational Committee
Educational Symposium	October 22, 2022	Educational Committee
Neurosurgery Updates	Bi Monthly	Egyptian Neurosurgical Society/Education Committee

** We receive very often invitation to participate and contribute to several ONLINE courses. Our policy is to offer our members to participate as the Online program is very dynamic.

WINS Committee. (Dr Gelareh Zadeh)

Published 2 publications & guidelines papers and in the process of planning of WINS Conference.
Thank you for the opportunity to lead the Women in Neurosurgery Committee. I have selected a committee of 13 members to represent various regions of the world and different stages of training and career to serve on this committee. In our meetings and discussions, as a group and through personal communications with a number of the members individually, a key area in need of better understanding has been the impact of parenting in neurosurgery.
Despite growing interest in family planning alongside surgical training, significant barriers exist including time constraints, stigma, and lack of paid leave, and formal policies. We currently lack a deep understanding of the challenges residents face and how practice cultures may prohibit successful policy enactment. Additionally, while we recognize the importance of implementing and having in place policies and approaches to ease the demands of parenting while training and establishing a career as an independent neurosurgeon, there is little that has been done to understand the pressures, pain-points and constraints.
Therefore, we have decided to focus on this as a key priority. We first focused on performing a qualitative study to gather residents’ perspectives surrounding parenting and childbearing during neurosurgical residency. We have conducted a cross-sectional, qualitative study with the results having been written into a manuscript that is under review. In this study purposive sampling was employed to capture a broad range of perspectives including stage of training, geographical location, and gender. Data collection and analysis occurred in parallel, using a thematic analysis approach. As a second phase to this project, we have devised a second survey to be reviewed and approved by the end of September 2022 by the WFNS women in neurosurgery committee. Following final approval of this questionnaire by all committee members we will distribute the survey to the broader WFNS membership, ask the Women in Neurosurgery Committee to distribute through their regional organizational distribution list with the hopes to populate and provide one of the largest surveys on this topic and to present the results in a second companion survey. The questions of this survey are designed to get a better understanding of the impact of parenting at various stages of career, regardless of gender identity, challenges with alternative methods of family planning and potential lack of a desire to have children as a recognized potential pressure on individuals. We hope to have the results completed by 2023.
Given the magnitude of the topic I believe that committing to this single priority over a two-year period is our key focus and achievement. In addition to this strategy, in the new year we hope to ensure that we have worked with the WFNS leadership of the scientific meeting in 2023 to have equal and diverse representation in speaker selection, co-chairs and moderator of sessions.
We hope to have the published manuscripts available for your review and broad dissemination at the WFNS 2023 meeting.

Cerebrovascular Committee. (Dr Ian Stefan Florian)

Organized 5 symposiums and conferences (1 live) and 1 conference in preparation.

Monthly online meetings (every last Friday of month on zoom)
WFNS Symposium - Cerebrovascular Disease –A Multidisciplinary Approach (Sep 8-10) Cluj- Napoca, Romania. Organized by WFNS CvDT Committee, “Juliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Society of Neurosurgery. 71 invited speakers from 23 countries. The Book Program is attached.
Pre-Congress Courses: Live surgery- intracranial anastomosis for Moya-Moya disease; Neuroanatomy: 3-Dimensional Modeling and Augmented/Virtual Reality Course; Endovascular Workshop - Stryker in collaboration with Transylvania Hospital
Participation to the 5th SeENS Congress – Opatija, Croatia, 20-24 September organized by SeENS, Croatian Society of Neurosurgery
Participation in the EANS Congress, Belgrade, October 2022
Participation in the WFNS Educational Course & MANS Congress, Cairo, Egypt, December 2022

Neurosurgical Anatomy Committee. (Dr Juan Luis Amador and Dr Ying Mao)

Organized 2 International Courses and a Neurosurgical Anatomy Symposium Series starting in April on a monthly basis.

NOVEMBER 2021-AUGUST 2022:

INTEGRATION OF THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE
JUANCARLOS FERNANDEZ MIRANDA MD FACS / UNITED STATES
MARIA PERIS CELDA MD PhD / UNITED STATES
PAOLO ABDO DO SEIXO KADRI MD / UNITED STATES
ALVARO CAMPERO MD / ARGENTINA
VICENT QUILLIS QUESADA MD / SPAIN
TOMISLAV SAJKO MD/ CROATIA
UGUR TURE MD / TURKEY
ABHINDA SHAMD / INDIA
KAMEL BAHRI MD / TUNISIA
NAOKI OTANI MD / JAPAN
JIAN- GUO XU MD / CHINA

APR 9, 2022: WEBINAR WFNS: SURGICAL ANATOMY OFMICRONEUROSURGICAL SULCAL KEYPOINTS. INVITED LECTURER: PROF. GUILHERME C. RIBAS / BRAZIL COORDINATION: PROF. JUAN LUIS GOMEZ-AMADOR / PROF. LUIS A.B. BORBA MODERATOR: PROF. PAOLO. A.S. KADRI

JUN 11, 2022: WEBINAR WFNS: ANATOMY OF THE SYLVIAN FISSURE. INVITED LECTURERS: PROF. AL-MEFTY / UNITED STATES, VICENT QUILLIS QUESADA MD / SPAIN, PROF. IOAN STEFAN FLORIAN MD PhD / ROMANIA. COORDINATION. PROF. JUAN LUIS GOMEZ-AMADOR / PROF. LUIS A.B. BORBA. MODERATOR: PAOLO A.S. KADRI

PARTICIPATION IN PRESENCIAL CONGRESS:

SEMINAR OF NEUROSURGICAL ANATOMY AT THE XL CONGRESO LATINOAMERICANO DE NEUROCIRUGIA. NOVEMBER 19-24, 2022. MIAMI FL, USA.
SEMINAR OF NEUROSURGICAL ANATOMY. PRE-CONGRESS MEETING TOGETHER WITH THE XXX COMMITTEE. DECEMBER 2022. CAIRO, EGYPT
SEMINAR OF NEUROSURGICAL ANATOMY: INTERNATIONAL COURSE OF NEUROSURGERY. FEBRUARY 2-4, 2023. MONTERREY NL, MEXICO

WFNS WEBINAR SERIES:

ANATOMICAL BASIS FOR THE RESECTION OF PITUITARY ADENOMAS
INVITED LECTURER: PROF. JUAN CARLOS FERNANDEZ MIRANDA /USA
THE PTERIONAL APPROACH: ANATOMICAL LANDMARKS
INVITED LECTURER: PROF. UGUR TURE/ TURKEY
FROM SUBOCCIPITAL TO FAR LATERAL APPROACHES: THE ANATOMY AS A GUIDE
INVITED LECTURER: PROF. ALVARO CAMPERO /ARGENTINA

ELABORATION OF A DIGITAL ATLAS OF NEUROANATOMICAL BASIS FOR NEUROSURGERY

COLABORATION OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, TO HAVE SURGICAL CASES WITH THE NEUROANATOMIAL BASIS. WITH SPECIAL INVITATION OF RENOWNED NEUROSURGEONS. ACCESIBLE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE WFNS

New WFNS Journal Committee (WFNS Journal). (Dr Peter Nakaji)

Committee established and working with publisher. Had 4 online meetings, chosen new name for Journal, search for Editor in Chief underway.

Spine Committee. (Dr Salman Sharif)

Organized 11 webinars, 5 live workshops/courses, 3 newsletters released, 2^nd Lower Back pain Congress Istanbul, Turkey (September) in preparation.
International neurosurgery Conference (Karad, India),
STNC 2022 Pre-Meeting Course: Spine Cadaver Workshop – 8-11 February (LOME).
1st CV Junction Consensus Sao Paulo during the Brazilian Congress of Spinal Surgery Aug 4 & 5.
2nd CV Junction Consensus in Porto.
WFNS Symposium Miami during FLANC Nov 19 to 24.
WFNS Basic Cadaver Course in Kenya with CAANS (November, 2022).

Future meetings:
BASIC AND ADVANCE COURSE – Bolivia Apr 4-5 2023
Neurosurgery Spine Course in Africa – Kinshasa Jun 27-28 2023
Istanbul Spine Masters & ISMISS Turkey, Oct 19-22 2023
18^th World Congress of Neurosurgery, Cape Town, South Africa, Dec 4-8 2023
WFNS Education Course Karachi, Aug10-12 2023
Spine Tumor Consensus
Spine Workshop
Endoscopy/ Skull Base Workshop

Publications:

Introduction to Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations: Salman Sharif, Mehmet Zileli.
Editorial: Looking for the Optimum Treatment of Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations: Se-Hoon Kim
Classification and Radiological Diagnosis of Thoracolumbar Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations. Abdul Hafid Bajamal, Khrisna Rangga Permana, Muhammad Faris, Mehmet Zileli, Nikolay A. Peev
Surgical Techniques for Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations. Salman Yousuf Sharif, Yousuf Shaikh, Onur Yaman, Mehmet Zileli
Kyphosis After Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations. Onur Yaman, Mehmet Zileli, Salim Senturk, Kemal Paksoy, Salman Sharif
Clinical & Radiological Factors Affecting Thoracolumbar Fractures Outcome: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations. Francesco Costa, Salman Sharif, Abdul Hafid Bajamal, Yousuf Shaikh, Carla D. Anania, Mehmet Zileli
Incidence and Epidemiology of Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations. Mehmet Zileli, Salman Sharif, Maurizio Fornari
Indications for Nonsurgical Treatment of Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations. Nikolay Peev, Mehmet Zileli, Salman Sharif, Shahswar Arif, Zarina Brady
Sharif, Salman & Yassar, Muhammad & Ali, Muhammad & Costa, Francesco & Zileli, Mehmet & Parthiban, Jutty. (2022). Vertebral Augmentation in Osteoporotic Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations, Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences.

Neurosurgical Trauma Committee. (Dr Andrew Reisner, Chair, Dr Laura Lippa and Dr Andres Rubiano, Vice Chairs)

WFNS Neurotrauma Committee activities (2021 – 2023) BRIEF SUMMARY of main events
WFNS Webinars in association with Continental Neurosurgical Associations: 1) CAANS – June10, 2022: 2) ACNS – Jan 2023; 3) AASNS – Feb 2023; 4) FLANC – March 2023. Each with 9 speakers, 5 moderators and Approx. 500 – 1000 participants.
In person WFNS Neurotrauma meetings: Bogota (WFNS) – March 2022; Philadelphia (AANS) – April 2022; Berlin (INTS) – July 2022; Cairo (MANS) – Dec 2022; Peshawar, Pakistan – Feb 2023 (fully planned but cancelled); Santa Cruz, Bolivia – April 2023 (ICRAN).
Ad hoc Neurotrauma committee zoom meetings: Full group (2); individual (approx. 30)
Research: GEO -TBI; individual research with WFNS (approx. 10)
Scope and Consensus paper (in progress): Abusive Head Trauma – global perspective
Other: Neurotrauma lecture series (BOTH English and Mandarin) 24 lectures over 5 months – in association with Chinese NS society – done in conjunction with Global neuro – ALL talks completed and uploaded – approx. ½ way through streaming.
International Nurse Neurotrauma fellowship: Completed – Aug 2023 – Weeks ( Candidate from Cali, Colombia- Next from Pakistan planned)

Young Neurosurgeons Committee. (Dr Ignatius Essene)

Organized 11 webinars.

William Scoville Award Committee. (Dr Imad Kaanan)

In process of choosing 2023 Awardee.

Young Neurosurgeons Award Committee (Atos Alves de Souza) (Dr Fahd Derkaui Hassani)

In process of appointing awardees

Skull base & vascular neurosurgery course for African neurosurgeons: Conferences & hands-on, Simulation Center, Abulcasis International University of health sciences, Rabat, Morocco, 16 Sep 2022
WNFS YNS Awards Webinar series: Research and publishing in neurosurgery. 6 webinars, starting in October.
Call for submission, WFNS YNS awards: Submission starts in Oct 2022, Deadline: Mar 2023.
Announcement of the 5 best papers: Results announced to WFNS President, Secretary, Committees Coordinator, WFNS Congress President and Scientific Committee Chair by June 2023.
Committee session, Winter meeting of the French Speaking Neurosurgical Society, Dec 2022.

Neuroendoscopy Committee. (Dr Stefan Wolsberger)

Organized 5 workshops/symposia

Liaison Committee WFNS/WHO (Dr Walter Johnson)

Preparing WFNS delegation to attend 76th World Health Assembly (21-30 May 2023)

4 members of the WHO-WFNS Liaison Committee were able to attend the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland the week of 23-27 May, 2022.
Dr Gail Rosseau, Dr Kemel Ghotme, Dr Roxanne Garcia, and myself attended these sessions and associated side events and meetings.
First, important connections with WHO were strengthened, from Dr Tedros, regional directors, specific ministers of health, and other WHO colleagues. Specific meetings included meeting with the WHO “Brain Team”, Dr Tarun Dua and Dr Nicoline Scheiss, both neurologists with the Brain Health Unit, Mental Health and Substance Use Department, WHO. This meeting highlighted aspects of the WHO “Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and other Neurological Disorders – 2013-2030” that WFNS could assist. Members of the committee have been editing sections of the manuscript.
Second, members of this committee met with several health ministries and WHO nutrition department regarding folate micronutrient fortification for the prevention of spina bifida and hydrocephalus, particularly in LMICs. Most members of the attending committee are also involved with the Global Alliance for the Prevention of Spina Bifida through Folate Fortification (GAPSBi- F), which was very active at WHA and the G4 Alliance meetings.
Third, the G4 Alliance had board meetings and evening events each evening. These sessions included much information and collaboration with neurosurgical issues. The committee members as well as Dr Kee Park and others were in attendance.
Lastly, members of the committee had an opportunity to meet with Global Surgery Foundation (I’m a founding board member) and attend their formal reception. It was an excellent opportunity to meet with other surgically interested entities.
A follow up committee meeting will occur in Sept/Oct.

Pediatrics Neurosurgery Committee (Drs Abhaya Kalkarni and Meng-Fai Kuo)

Module 1- Head Malformations anatomy, diagnosis, and treatment (Craniosynostosis and encephalocele)
Module 2- Brain Malformations anatomy, diagnosis, treatment (Hydrocephalus, cysts)
Module 3- Spine Malformations anatomy, diagnosis, and treatment (Dysraphism, Spina Bifida)
Module 3, August 26, 2022, 17:00 -19:00 CEST
Spine Malformations anatomy, diagnosis and treatment (Dysraphism, Spina Bifida)
Monthly, Friday, Time zone: 8:00am Pacific time; 12 Brazil; 4PM UK;
Moderation: Nelci Zanon (Br); Jeffrey Blount (USA) and Noor UI Maria (Pakistan)
Embryology and classification on SB - Nabila Taghlit (Argelia)
SB/MMC Antenatal diagnosis and management - Samer El Baa (USA)
SB/MMC Post-natal repair and care - Kaushik Sil - India
Surgical treatment - indications Hydrocephalus and SB - Abhaya Kulkarni, Canada
Long term follow-up SB and multidisciplinary team – Eylem Ocal – (USA)
Lipomas surgical management - Dominique Thompsom - UK
Discussion and Q & A
Module 4- Pediatric Neuro oncology (Brain tumors)
Module 5- Pediatric Neuro Infection (CNS infection)
Module 6- Pediatric Head and Spine Trauma (TBI)