Pittsburgh, October 30, 2009 -- The following is a list of presentations given by department faculty at the recent Congress of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting held in New Orleans, LA, October 24-29.

Founded in 1951, CNS is an industry trade group dedicated to advancing neurosurgery by providing members with the educational and career development opportunities they need to become leaders and innovators in the field. The organization currently boasts a membership of 6,763 neurosurgeons worldwide.

Scientific Program

Section On Cerebrovascular Surgery. Moderators: Connolly ES Jr, Ogilvy CS. (920) "Community and Individual Equipoise for Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysm Clipping versus Coiling: Results from Integrated Medical Learning® (IML)." Barker FG, Connolly ES Jr, Hoh BL, Selden NR, Asher AL, Kondziolka DS, Boulis NM.

October 26
3:51 – 4:00 p.m.

Section On Disorders Of The Spine And Peripheral Nerves. Moderators: Zager EL, Shaffrey CI. (928) "DuraSeal™ Spinal Sealant as an Adjunct to Sutured Dural Repair in the Spine: Results of a Prospective, Multi-Center, Randomized Controlled Study." Wright NM, Kim KD, Cosgrove R, Tew JM Jr, Kaiser MG, McCormick PC, Chestnut R, Ellenbogen RG, Van Loveren HR, Vale FL, Shaffrey ME, Chen TC, Wang MY, Mayberg MR, Sharan AD, Gerszten PC, Welch WC, Graham RC, Brown FD, Fessler RG, Deutsch H, Shah MV, McCutcheon IE, Karahalios DG, Long DM, Hopkins LN III, Jallo J, Delashaw JB, Ondra SL, Gross RE.

October 26
3:33 - 3:42 p.m.

Section On Pain. Moderators: Rosenow JM, Slavin KV. (950) "Radiosurgery for Cluster Headache: Report of the North American Gamma Knife Consortium." Kano H, Kondziolka DS, Mathieu D, Stafford SL, Flannery TJ, Niranjan A, Pollock BE, Kaufmann AM, Flickinger J, Lunsford LD.

October 26
3:51 - 4:00 p.m.

Section On Tumors. Moderators: Lang FF, Liau LM. (973) "Chordoma Radiosurgery: Report of the North American Gamma Knife Consortium." Lunsford LD, Kano H, Niranjan A, Flickinger J, Iqbal FO, Pollock BE, Stafford SL, Sheehan JP, Mathieu D, Rosseau GL, Kondziolka DS.

October 26
2:48 – 2:57 p.m.

Section On Tumors. Moderators: Lang FF, Liau LM. (977) "Solving Radiation Effects versus Tumor Progression: 'T1/T2 Matching' to Differentiate Tumor Growth from Radiation Effects after Stereotactic Radiosurgery." (National Brain Tumor Society Mahaley Clinical Research Award.) Kano H, Kondziolka DS.

October 26
3:24 – 3:33 p.m.

Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care. "Excellence Outside the Box: Bringing the Future into the Now." Moderators: Okonkwo DO, Ellegala DB.

October 27
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Section on Tumors. "Achieving Excellence in Craniopharyngioma." Moderators: Gardner PA, Jane JA Jr.

October 28
2:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Section on Cerebrovascular Surgery. "Small Hemispheric AVMs: To Treat or Not Treat and Surgery vs. Radiosurgery." Moderators: Veznedaroglu EI, Morcos JJ. Technology Moderators: Ragel BT, Siddiqui AH.

Expert Discussion: "Small Hemispheric AVMs: To Treat or Not Treat and Surgery vs. Radiosurgery"
Batjer HH, Kondziolka DS, Cockroft KM.

October 28
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Neurosurgical Forums

Section On Disorders Of The Spine And Peripheral Nerves
Moderators: Resnick DK, Shaffrey CI. "Single versus Multi-session radiosurgery for metastatic spine tumors. Results from a multi-institutional study." Henderson FC, Gerszten PC, Gagnon GJ, Burton SA, Mintz AH, Dong X, Quinn AE, Heron DE.

October 26
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Section On Disorders Of The Spine And Peripheral Nerves
Moderators: Resnick DK, Shaffrey CI. "Plasma disc decompression versus fluoroscopy-guided transforaminal epidural steroid injections for symptomatic contained lumbar disc hernation: 2-year results of a prospective, randomized,
controlled trial." Gerszten PC, Bhagia SM, Covey CM, Ford WJ, Huston CW, Kabazie JA, Mocek CK, Pino CA, Rathmell JP, Reusswig PN, Schultz DM, Simopoulos TT, Smuck MW, Tarver JM.

October 26
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Special Course

"Cerebral Metastases Guidelines." Part 1: Guidelines for the Treatment of Cerebral Metastases. Course Directors: Linskey ME, Kalkanis SN. The Role of Stereotactic Radiosurgery in the Management of Newly-Diagnosed Brain Metastases. Kondziolka DS, Linskey ME.

October 26
3:10 – 3:25 p.m.

Practical Courses

(PC11) "Inpatient and Outpatient Management Dilemmas: For Nurses, APRNs and Physician Assistants." Course Directors: Shaffrey ME, Strayer AL. Faculty: Mummaneni PV, Shaffrey CI, Okonkwo DO, Dumont AS, Jane JA Jr, Elias WJ, Farace E.

October 25
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

(PC17) "Spinal Deformity." Course Directors: Shaffrey CI, Mummaneni PV. Faculty: Kuntz C IV, Harrop JS, Heary RF, Okonkwo DO, La Marca F, Koski TR, Angevine PD.

October 25
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

(PC26). "Pediatric Neuro-Oncology." Course Director: Rutka JT, Chang S, Pollack IF. Faculty: Taylor MD, Goumnerova L, Kassam AB, Kondziolka DS, Sutton LN, Boop FA, Al-Mefty O, Muraszko KM, Muzumdar D.

October 25
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Lecture: "Adjuvant Management of Medulloblastomas." Pollack IF.

(PC31) "Spinal Radiosurgery." Course Directors: Gerszten PC . Faculty: Bilsky MH, Angelov L, Sheehan JP, Rock JP, Chang SD.

October 25
1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Luncheon Seminars

(M12) "Vestibular Schwannoma Management." Moderator: Delashaw JB. Faculty: Ammirati M, DeMonte F, Lunsford LD, Misra BK .

October 26
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

(M16) "How to Develop an Academic Career in Neurosurgery
Moderator: Nicholas M. Boulis." Faculty: Hall WA, Kondziolka DS, Yoshor D, Walter KA.

October 26
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

(W38) "Treatment of the Aging Spine." Moderator: Mummaneni PV. Faculty: Angevine PD, Daniel R. Fassett DR, Kanter AS, Sin AH.

October 28
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

(W39) "Sports Related Spinal Injuries." Moderator: Khoo LT. Faculty: Cantu RC, Holly LT, Kalfas IH, Maroon JC.

October 28
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

(W50) "Management of Head Injury in the US and Internationally." Moderator: Narayan RK. Faculty: Bhatoe HS, Ellenbogen RG, Ghajar J, Okonkwo DO .

October 28
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Posters

"Total percutaneous transpedicular corpectomy combined with cement augmentation for malignant vertebral compression fractures." Monaco EA, Gerszten PC.

"CyberKnife Radiosurgery for Complex Skull Base Tumors." Amin D, Mintz A, Heron D, Burton S, Ozhasoglu, C.

"Frameless and Pinless Stereotactic Brain Biopsy." Amin D, Mintz A, Lozanne K, Seelman K, Parry P.

Oral Presentations

"A Pivotal Role of Type-1 Interferon Signaling In Immunosurveillance against Glioma—Mouse Studies Leading to Discovery of Novel Prognostic Markers in Humans." Fujita M, Scheurer ME, Decker SA, Popescu F, McDonald HA, Kohanash G, Kato H, Bondy ML, Ohlfest JR, Okada H.