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World Neurosurgery and the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS)
President’s Inaugural Letter
WORLD NEUROSURGERY and the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS)
Peter Black, President, WFNS
W
ORLD NEUROSURGERY, the journal you are now reading, is the official journal of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS). The Federation has as its mission the education of neurosurgeons worldwide, the enhancement of collegial relations among world neurosurgeons, the recognition and amelioration of social inequities in neurosurgery, the role of neurosurgery in public health, the promotion of neurosurgical research, and the general support of neurosurgery as an important specialty in medicine. This journal will help to achieve all these goals. WORLD NEUROSURGERY arose from conversations with Kathleen Gaffney and Herb Niemirow of Elsevier Publishing in the spring of 2009. This publishing group wished to change and broaden its neurosurgical journal presence and had a short timeline for doing this. Over a 3-month period, the contract was developed and a new Journal was born, approved by the Administrative Council of the WFNS. Dr. Apuzzo will describe elsewhere his vision for the journal; in this editorial, I will focus on the WFNS and its mission as exemplified in this exciting new enterprise. The WFNS is now a family of 114 member societies around the world, including national, regional, and continental societies. Our website, www.wfns.org, has a list of these member societies, who form what we call the “Executive Committee.” The leadership team is the Administrative Council, a group of eight neurosurgeons from seven countries; it includes Dr. Peter Black (USA) as President, Dr. Jacques Brotchi (Belgium) as past president, Dr. Takeshi Kawase (Japan) as first vice president, Dr. Hildo Azevedo (Brazil) as secretary, Dr. Basant Misra (India) as assistant secretary, Dr. Miguel Arraez (Spain) as treasurer, Dr. Christopher Loftus (USA) as assistant treasurer, and Dr. Hee-Won Jung (Korea) as President of the XVth World Congress in Seoul in 2013. Along with a number of important committee chairs and vice presidents from five continents, these men and women define and guide the World Federation. Several programs help us carry out our mission: 1) We hold a World Congress of Neurosurgery every 4 years. The last one was in Boston in September 2009. It was the largest neurosurgical meeting in history and a wonderful scientific and social event. As a world family of neurosurgeons, we heard the Boston Pops Orchestra play for us, visited the Kennedy Library, saw Boston, and listened to and learned from more than 200 speakers from 80 countries. Dr. Jacques Brotchi, our WFNS President, Dr. Roberto Heros, the Congress President, and Dr. Jacques Morcos, the Chairman
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www.SCIENCEDIRECT.com
of the Scientific Program, were particularly responsible for making this Congress such a success. We expect the next World Congress will continue this trend of excellence. It will be held in Seoul, Korea, from September 9 to 13, 2013. Dr. Hee-Won Jung, the President of that Congress, has selected a spectacular team that includes Dr. Suck Jun Oh as vice-president, and Dr. C.C. Park as program committee chair. We particularly expect neurosurgeons from Asia at this meeting. 2) Through our Education Committee, we give general neurosurgery education courses around the world in developing countries; organized by Dr. Atos de Souza from Brazil for the past 4 years, these courses are a living testimony to our commitment to education in developing countries. Since the inception of the program, we have had courses in 40 countries. For the next 4 years, Prof. Yoko Kato from Japan will chair this Committee. WFNS teams are booked to go to 11 different sites in 2010, including India, Bolivia, Philippines, Thailand, Spain, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Algeria, and Africa. 3) Our web site www.wfns.org contains our history, our mission, and our future. Masterfully supervised by Dr. Gail Rosseau, it contains a world calendar of neurosurgical events, the documents that define us, committee reports, a virtual exhibit hall, a picture album, the on-line journal Reviews in Neurosurgery and a lot more. It will soon have a worldwide list of neurosurgeons and online self-learning modules. 4) We have scientific committees in all the specialties of neurosurgery. These committees are involved in developing continuing education programs and giving postgraduate courses themselves. Present committees include Pediatric Neurosurgery, Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Neurotraumatology, Neuro-oncology, Skull-base surgery, Spine, Peripheral Nerve Surgery, Neurovascular/Cerebrovascular, Neuro-rehabilitation, Neurosurgical Education, Neuro-Technology, Neuromodulation, Radiosurgery, Young Neurosurgeons Forum, Women in Neurosurgery, Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders, Endocrine, Neuro-endoscopy, and Military Neurosurgeons. 5) We have a particular interest in young neurosurgeons and in women in neurosurgery. Our Young Neurosurgeons Committee has been very active under Dr. Rosseau and will now be chaired by Dr. Raji Mahmoud from Nigeria. Our awards to young neurosurgeons will be chaired by Prof. Andrew Kaye of Melbourne, Australia. The Committee on Women in Neurosurgery (WINS) includes women at all stages of neurosurgery training around the world. Prof. Yoko Kato has chaired
73 [4]: 214-215, APRIL 2010 WORLD NEUROSURGERY
PRESIDENT’S INAUGURAL LETTER
this Committee in the past and it will now be chaired by Dr. Ling Feng from Beijing, China. 6) We have other committees including a liaison with Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS) and other organizations led by Dr. Merwyn Bagan, fundraising, publications, constitution and bylaws, honorary presidents, medals of honor, nominating committee, Scoville Award, and others. These allow us to do the administrative work of the organization. 7) Through our WFNS Foundation, with Dr. Armando Basso as its president, we provide education and equipment to neurosurgeons in developing countries. The instruments we provide include spine and cranial instrument sets and a highspeed drill from Aesculap, operating microscopes from Zeiss, endoscopy equipment from Storz, and shunts from Surgiware. All of these companies have partnered with us to provide this equipment for neurosurgeons in low-income countries
WORLD NEUROSURGERY 73 [4]: 214-215, APRIL 2010
at greatly reduced costs through the Foundation. We have developed WFNS training centers for African neurosurgeons in Rabat, Morocco, and Recife, Brazil, where full neurosurgical training can be done. We also support specialty training centers around the world for 3 to 4 months’ training. 8) We hope that WORLD NEUROSURGERY will bring together the science and social lives of neurosurgeons worldwide. Under Mike Apuzzo and his editorial office, it is an exciting new venture for the WFNS. We encourage you to subscribe and to contribute articles to it. 9) Finally, we have a Central Office in Nyon, Switzerland, masterfully directed by Ms. Jan Joseph. This is the heart of our work.
1878-8750/$ - see front matter © 2010 Published by Elsevier Inc. DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.02.010
www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org
215
WORLD NEUROSURGERY and the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS)
Peter Black, President, WFNS
W
ORLD NEUROSURGERY, the journal you are now reading, is the official journal of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS). The Federation has as its mission the education of neurosurgeons worldwide, the enhancement of collegial relations among world neurosurgeons, the recognition and amelioration of social inequities in neurosurgery, the role of neurosurgery in public health, the promotion of neurosurgical research, and the general support of neurosurgery as an important specialty in medicine. This journal will help to achieve all these goals. WORLD NEUROSURGERY arose from conversations with Kathleen Gaffney and Herb Niemirow of Elsevier Publishing in the spring of 2009. This publishing group wished to change and broaden its neurosurgical journal presence and had a short timeline for doing this. Over a 3-month period, the contract was developed and a new Journal was born, approved by the Administrative Council of the WFNS. Dr. Apuzzo will describe elsewhere his vision for the journal; in this editorial, I will focus on the WFNS and its mission as exemplified in this exciting new enterprise. The WFNS is now a family of 114 member societies around the world, including national, regional, and continental societies. Our website, www.wfns.org, has a list of these member societies, who form what we call the “Executive Committee.” The leadership team is the Administrative Council, a group of eight neurosurgeons from seven countries; it includes Dr. Peter Black (USA) as President, Dr. Jacques Brotchi (Belgium) as past president, Dr. Takeshi Kawase (Japan) as first vice president, Dr. Hildo Azevedo (Brazil) as secretary, Dr. Basant Misra (India) as assistant secretary, Dr. Miguel Arraez (Spain) as treasurer, Dr. Christopher Loftus (USA) as assistant treasurer, and Dr. Hee-Won Jung (Korea) as President of the XVth World Congress in Seoul in 2013. Along with a number of important committee chairs and vice presidents from five continents, these men and women define and guide the World Federation. Several programs help us carry out our mission: 1) We hold a World Congress of Neurosurgery every 4 years. The last one was in Boston in September 2009. It was the largest neurosurgical meeting in history and a wonderful scientific and social event. As a world family of neurosurgeons, we heard the Boston Pops Orchestra play for us, visited the Kennedy Library, saw Boston, and listened to and learned from more than 200 speakers from 80 countries. Dr. Jacques Brotchi, our WFNS President, Dr. Roberto Heros, the Congress President, and Dr. Jacques Morcos, the Chairman
214
www.SCIENCEDIRECT.com
of the Scientific Program, were particularly responsible for making this Congress such a success. We expect the next World Congress will continue this trend of excellence. It will be held in Seoul, Korea, from September 9 to 13, 2013. Dr. Hee-Won Jung, the President of that Congress, has selected a spectacular team that includes Dr. Suck Jun Oh as vice-president, and Dr. C.C. Park as program committee chair. We particularly expect neurosurgeons from Asia at this meeting. 2) Through our Education Committee, we give general neurosurgery education courses around the world in developing countries; organized by Dr. Atos de Souza from Brazil for the past 4 years, these courses are a living testimony to our commitment to education in developing countries. Since the inception of the program, we have had courses in 40 countries. For the next 4 years, Prof. Yoko Kato from Japan will chair this Committee. WFNS teams are booked to go to 11 different sites in 2010, including India, Bolivia, Philippines, Thailand, Spain, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Algeria, and Africa. 3) Our web site www.wfns.org contains our history, our mission, and our future. Masterfully supervised by Dr. Gail Rosseau, it contains a world calendar of neurosurgical events, the documents that define us, committee reports, a virtual exhibit hall, a picture album, the on-line journal Reviews in Neurosurgery and a lot more. It will soon have a worldwide list of neurosurgeons and online self-learning modules. 4) We have scientific committees in all the specialties of neurosurgery. These committees are involved in developing continuing education programs and giving postgraduate courses themselves. Present committees include Pediatric Neurosurgery, Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Neurotraumatology, Neuro-oncology, Skull-base surgery, Spine, Peripheral Nerve Surgery, Neurovascular/Cerebrovascular, Neuro-rehabilitation, Neurosurgical Education, Neuro-Technology, Neuromodulation, Radiosurgery, Young Neurosurgeons Forum, Women in Neurosurgery, Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders, Endocrine, Neuro-endoscopy, and Military Neurosurgeons. 5) We have a particular interest in young neurosurgeons and in women in neurosurgery. Our Young Neurosurgeons Committee has been very active under Dr. Rosseau and will now be chaired by Dr. Raji Mahmoud from Nigeria. Our awards to young neurosurgeons will be chaired by Prof. Andrew Kaye of Melbourne, Australia. The Committee on Women in Neurosurgery (WINS) includes women at all stages of neurosurgery training around the world. Prof. Yoko Kato has chaired
73 [4]: 214-215, APRIL 2010 WORLD NEUROSURGERY
PRESIDENT’S INAUGURAL LETTER
this Committee in the past and it will now be chaired by Dr. Ling Feng from Beijing, China. 6) We have other committees including a liaison with Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS) and other organizations led by Dr. Merwyn Bagan, fundraising, publications, constitution and bylaws, honorary presidents, medals of honor, nominating committee, Scoville Award, and others. These allow us to do the administrative work of the organization. 7) Through our WFNS Foundation, with Dr. Armando Basso as its president, we provide education and equipment to neurosurgeons in developing countries. The instruments we provide include spine and cranial instrument sets and a highspeed drill from Aesculap, operating microscopes from Zeiss, endoscopy equipment from Storz, and shunts from Surgiware. All of these companies have partnered with us to provide this equipment for neurosurgeons in low-income countries
WORLD NEUROSURGERY 73 [4]: 214-215, APRIL 2010
at greatly reduced costs through the Foundation. We have developed WFNS training centers for African neurosurgeons in Rabat, Morocco, and Recife, Brazil, where full neurosurgical training can be done. We also support specialty training centers around the world for 3 to 4 months’ training. 8) We hope that WORLD NEUROSURGERY will bring together the science and social lives of neurosurgeons worldwide. Under Mike Apuzzo and his editorial office, it is an exciting new venture for the WFNS. We encourage you to subscribe and to contribute articles to it. 9) Finally, we have a Central Office in Nyon, Switzerland, masterfully directed by Ms. Jan Joseph. This is the heart of our work.
1878-8750/$ - see front matter © 2010 Published by Elsevier Inc. DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.02.010
www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org
215