Neuromonitoring 2008 Cape Town, Friday October 17 Part II: Afternoon Intraoperative Neurophysiology: A Functional Approach to Modern Paediatric Neurosurgery

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Like its adult counterpart, Pediatric Neurosurgery is becoming more and more ‘functional’ than we were used to in the past, and Intraoperative Neurophysiology is emerging as one of the paths we can take to make progress in our discipline.

In this half a day Symposium we will discuss the use of neurophysiological techniques to prevent injury to the nervous system during pediatric neurosurgical procedures. Topics will cover the principles of neurophysiological monitoring and its impact during epilepsy surgery and brain tumor surgery in eloquent areas, brainstem and spinal cord tumor surgery as well as during surgery for complex spine cases and tethered cord.

Neurosurgeons as well as neurologist/neurophysiologists and anesthesiologists will enjoy keynote lectures from an international Faculty aimed to bridge neurophysiological and neurosurgical expertise.

Looking forward to seeing you in Cape Town.

Francesco Sala and Graham Fieggen

Preliminary Faculty

I.R. Abbott (Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, USA)

V. Deletis (Director, Intraoperative Neurophysiology, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, New York, USA)

J. Drake (Professor and Chief, Division of Neurosurgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada)

G. Fieggen (Professor and Chairman, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Cape Town, South Africa)

W. Harkness (Professor, International Neurosurgery Centre, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK)

G. Jallo (Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA)

H.L. Journee (Director Intraoperative Neurophysiology, Dept. of Neurological Surgery, Groningen , The Netherlands )

K. Kothbauer (Chief, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland)

N. Morota (Director, Department of Neurosurgery, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan)

J.T. Rutka (Professor and Chairman, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Canada)

F. Sala (Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Verona, Italy)

J. Shils (Director, Intraoperative Monitoring, Lahey Clinic, Burlington, USA)

T. Sloan (Professor of Anesthesiology, Neuroanesthesia, University of Colorado, Denver, USA)

Preliminary Scientific Program

14.00 G. Fieggen, F. Sala: Welcome and Introduction

Session I: Overview on Intraoperative Neurophysiology

14.05: R. Abbott: The impact of intraoperative neurophysiology in Pediatric Neurosurgery: A neurosurgical view.

14.25: V. Deletis: The evolution of intraoperative neurophysiology in Pediatric Neurosurgery: A neurophysiological perspective

14.35: T. Sloan: Anesthesiological management and communication between teams: The key for a successful monitoring.

14.55:  Discussion

Session II: Intraoperative Neurophysiology in Intracranial Surgery

15.05 F. Sala: Neurophysiological mapping and monitoring of the motor system in supratentorial surgery

15.25 J.T. Rutka: Epilepsy and brain tumor surgery in eloquent areas: the role of intraoperative neurophysiology.

15.45: W. Harkness: Do we still need invasive recordings? For how long?

16.05: J. Shils: Deep Brain Stimulation to treat dystonia in children

16.20: N. Morota: Neurophysiological mapping and monitoring in brainstem and posterior fossa surgery

16.40: Discussion

17.00: Coffee break

Session III: Intraoperative Neurophysiology in Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery

17.30: V. Deletis: Principles of monitoring and mapping of the sensory-motor pathways in the spinal cord and the conus-cauda region

18.00: L. Journee: How to improve motor evoked potential monitoring during spinal cord procedures in younger children: Neurophysiological tricks.

18.15: J. Drake: The value of neurophysiological monitoring during complex spine cases. Toronto’s experience.

18.35: G. Jallo: Intramedullary spinal cord tumor surgery: Can we do it without Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring?

18.55: K. Kothbauer: Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring during tethered cord surgery: Advantages and limitations.

19.15: Discussion and closing remarks