Dr. Chris Winfree Shares Latest Findings on Peripheral Nerve Disorders and Treatment at the 2024 EANS Meeting
Last month, Dr. Christopher Winfree traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria for the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) 2024 Annual Meeting. EANS “serves as a professional community to enhance the quality of neurosurgical care through training, education and research.” Members are comprised from 39 countries from around Europe and currently led by President , Prof. Dr. Torstein Meling, Head of Department of Neurosurgery at the National Hospital of Denmark, Rigshospitalet. This year’s theme, “Innovation, Education, Leadership”, focused on technological advances that can improve neurosurgical education, training, and treatment.
A world-leader on peripheral nerve disorders with a special focus on neurosurgical pain management, Dr. Winfree served as featured speaker throughout this program. His first lecture, delivered during the Peripheral Nerve Surgery Pre-Congress Course, was entitled, Neurostimulation for Neuropathic Pain. This lecture provided a review of spinal cord stimulation (SCS), dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, and peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) indications and techniques.
During the main program session on Rare Peripheral Nervous System Conditions, Dr. Winfree presented a lecture on the Management of Phrenic Nerve Hourglass Constrictions in Patients with Parsonage-Turner Syndrome. After reviewing the topic, Dr. Winfree presented the series of patients that he and his collaborator, Mark Ginsburg, from the Diaphragm Paralysis Center here at Columbia have operated on with this condition. Their Center is one of the only places in the world where patients with this condition can be routinely diagnosed and treated.
Lastly, during the Peripheral Nerve MasterClass on Bringing Back Function, Dr. Winfree presented a lecture entitled, An Update on Peripheral Nerve Biopsies, which summarized his work developing novel nerve biopsy techniques. These surgical procedures enable Dr. Winfree and his Neurology colleagues to diagnose patients with rare neurological disorders, thus allowing them to move on to treatment.
Says Dr. Winfree on his experience at the EANS, “These international meetings allow friends and colleagues from all over the world to share their collective experiences and refine their skills. Christian Heinen, Head of the Neurosurgery Department at Christliches Krankenhaus Quakenbrück (GER), was a gracious host. He arranged an outstanding didactic peripheral nerve program for the EANS. Additionally, Nikolay Nikolov, a neurosurgery resident, arranged two fantastic traditional Bulgarian dinners for our group as well as a personal tour of his hometown, Sofia.”
“The energy at these meetings is also much different from that at the domestic neurosurgery meetings here in the US. There always seems to be more excitement at the international meetings, whereas the domestic meetings tend have a component of repetitiveness and even drudgery at times (Oh boy, another trip to Chicago…). Flying across the world to a place that none of us have been to, engaging on a professional level, then exploring new foods, scenery, history, etc. is just a more invigorating experience than schlepping yet again to a place we’ve all been to a dozen times before.”
We look forward to further collaboration with the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. Our residency program also affords opportunities to connect with the European neurosurgery community, currently our resident Deborah Boyett, PGY-5 is spending a year in an international neurosurgery rotation in London, UK. Through these international collaborations, Columbia Neurosurgery continues to lead on the latest innovations and techniques driving improvements to patient care and it is our privilege to share that knowledge with the global neurosurgery community.
We look forward to the EANS meeting in 2025 in Vienna.
