ISSue 2 /// Thursday, October 20, 2011 /// eurospine2011.com
150 years of national unity
Pre-Congress Meetings
Milan, October 19-21, 2011
Press Conference
tuesday, October 18 Although the EuroSpine 2011 congress officially opened on Wednesday, Pre-Congress Meetings were already taking place one day before on October 18. Over one hundred people attended the two Pre- The Pre-Congress Meetings Congress courses focusing on tried to get away from conventional front lectures and case studies. establish a lively “discussion” “Complications in spine surge- format. The vast majority of ry” was the topic of the course participants thought that this chaired by Vincent Arlet worked very well, although sur(USA), while the other course gery complications are not nedealt with “spinal deformities, cessarily an easy topic for open challenges and controversies” discussions. “It is always good and had Luca Papavero (Ger- to talk about complications many) as chair. During the because everybody has them” whole day inspiring talks from one participant from Belgium more than thirty lecturers, ex- remarked. A medical scienpert panels and lively discus- tist from Italy pointed out the sions were taking place. All “very controversial topics” that people asked emphasized the were being discussed. The fact internationality of the speakers that “well known experts come out and share their mistakes” and participants.. impressed one participant Besides case discussions of from Malaysia in particular. spinal deformities and surgery He was especially looking forcomplications, also issues con- ward to learn more from senior cerning data transfer, lacks in surgeons during the congress information technology, com- days, he said, and to connect munication issues and quali- with fellow medical scientists ty and risk management were from all over the world. topics of discussion that not seldom extended beyond the Sophie Haslinger lecture rooms. Interview with Award Winner Björn Strömqvist Björn Strömqvist, winner of the 2011 Full Paper Award for his paper „Dural Lesions in Decompression for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis – Incidence and Effect on Outcome“ (together with B. Jönsson and F. Strömqvist) was interviewed by Emre Acaroglu.
Read the interview on page 2 >>
DECADE OF ACTION FOR ROAD public awareness for this topic”, as Haluk Berk, Secretary SAFETY of the EuroSpine Society, expThe international press con- lained. ference of the EuroSpine 2011 congress featured the The local host Marco BrayDECADE OF ACTION FOR da-Bruno outlined the multiROAD SAFETY campaign regional significance of this (www.decadeofaction.org) conference, which is the “great as the main topic. Ciaran Bol- combination of cultural heritager, President of the EuroSpi- ge, heart and modern technone Society, pointed out logy”, where specialists “from that especially spine specialists all over the world gather and spend a considerable amount share their knowledge”, as Ahof their work on dealing with met Alanay, Chair of the 2011 the consequences of spinal Program Committee, descritraumas provoked by road traf- bed. “Such a congress would fic collisions. Media mostly re- not be possible without support about road traffic deaths, port from the industry”, said but spine surgeons have to deal local host Claudio Lamartina. with those who survive such A constructive and transparent accidents. The consequences relationship has been establisof spinal traumas have a huge hed between the medical comimpact on the patients’ lives. munity and companies based Therefore, it is appropriate to on the common interest of “take on the role and increase promoting the latest research
results. Industry representatives and spine specialists share one vision: to optimize patient treatment and care. Another important topic of the press conference was SPINE TANGO, the international database collection which allows to benchmark new methods of treatment and compare the results with other institutions, therefore keeping up high international standards. “Prospective data collection including a good follow-up is very important for a successful treatment”, said Jean-Charles Le Huec, Vice-President of the EuroSpine Society. It is one of the major goals of the EuroSpine Society to promote this method. Susanna Bonfiglio
eurospine2011.com /// Thursday, October 20, 2011 /// ISSue 2 ///
Page 2 BRIEF HISTORY OF SPINAL SURGERY IN ITALY
WHAT TO SEE IN MILAN ...
Part 2/3 by Pietro Bartolozzi
priority universally recognized. In the late 1960‘s Cloward improved herniated cervical disc In the 1957-67 decade surgical surgical technique and that encorrection and stabilization of richment was imported in Italy. scoliosis began to spread in Italy in both universities and hos- In 1970 the Florentine School pitals starting from Florence to faced the serious problem of Bologna, Genoa, Milan, Turin, spondyloptosis realizing, first in the world, the reduction of Rome, and Naples. the most severe forms using In 1967 Harrington instrumen- plaster casts. This method is still remembered, even if outdated, tation arrived in Italy. as an Italian proud. We must remember locations where Teachers and Students, In 1977 was born the Italian over time, adopted and im- Group for the Study of the proved these techniques, from Scoliosis, G.I.S., which aimed north to south: Turin, Pietra- to promote and encourage religure, Milan, Padua, Bologna, search, study, prevention and Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples, treatment of all forms of spinal pathology. Founding memand Bari. bers were Sandro Agostini, All names of colleagues who Elio Ascani, Ugo Del Torto, have contributed to the spread Alessandro Faldini, Leonardo and development of this surge- Gui, Pier Giorgio Marchetti, ry appear in publications on the Silvano Mastragostino, Giorsubject, reports and presenta- gio Monticelli, Alberto Ponte, tions to congresses and are now Romolo Savini and Fiorenzo part of the history of this sur- Travaglini; in 1978 took place in Pisa the first Congress of the gery. GIS, and from that date the anIt should be also remembered, nual congress faces all kind of among the particular applica- spinal pathologies. tions of the instrumentation, the proposal of apical fusions, Read more in the next issue … Interview with Award Winner Björn Strömqvist Congratulations, Dr. Strömqvist! What would you like to say about this? Was it a surprise for you to win the full paper award? Sure, it was absolutely a nice suprise! We did have good material of a prospective study of patients, but I didn‘t expect us to win. Do you feel good about it? I am very happy about it. That‘s why I came to Milan this early.
First of all the symbol of the city, the Duomo, the most outstanding example of Gothic-Lombard architecture that dates back to 1300 and that was built on the wishes of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. It’s an imposing building, second largest to St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome and has almost 3500 statues that are spread over an area of almost 12,000 square meters. The tallest spire, with the famous golden statue of the Virgin Mary ,“Madonnina”, is 108 meters high. Don’t miss to take the lift to the roof, from where you can get a breathtaking view of the Alps on a clear day.
If you walk around the DuThis is probably one of the largest serie on dural tears in spi- omo area go to Piazza Mernal stenosis surgery. The incidence seems to be pretty much canti, a characteristic square fixed around 8%. What is different in your series? surrounded by very interesting I think the difference is that it is large and it is a prospective study. Most other historical buildings represenstudies are retrospective, they study their old patient‘s material, but we do it ting Milanese culture from the beforehand. We have also identified quite some risk factors for substantial middle ages to the 17th centuduralty. I think that‘s the new part of it. ry: Palazzo della Ragione that dates back to 1200, the LogAre there any suggestions for our readers or viewers on dural gia degli Osii, the 17th century tears? Should they be less scared of getting dural tears in Palazzo delle Scuole Palatine their surgery? I guess the good part of the message is that the long term result is not affected in a negative way , but of course we know the risk factors: multi-level surgery, Smartphone Application old age, previous surgeries, smoking. If you discuss this with a patient and he is going to have all these risk factors, you have to be aware that these risk factors are there in the patient information. We have to underline that patience information is probably one of the most important aspects of your study as well! I think so, yes! Thank you very much for being with us and congratulations again! Watch the full interview on www.youtube.com/eurospineorg
and Palazzo dei Giureconsulti. tero d‘oro, Rectangle of Gold, bordered by via della Spiga, via Just on the right side of the Manzoni, via Sant‘Andrea and Duomo you will see Palazzo via Montenapoleone, where Reale, which has been home all the best designer boutiques to the most powerful men in are. Milan over the centuries, from the Viscontis to the Sforza fa- Castello Sforzesco is anomily, the Spanish governors and ther place to see. It’s a maAustrian rulers. Today tem- jestic building with wonderporary art exhibitions are held ful interior courtyards, built inside the building. in Gothic-Renaissance style, incredible halls designed by To the left of the Duomo is Leonardo, frescos painted by Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, master painters such as Braa must for shopping in Milan mante, who were commissibut also a piece of its histo- oned by the court of Ludoviry. In 1867 the designer Giu- co il Moro. Parco Sempione seppe Mengoni pioneered its which stands behind the castcomplex union of iron and le is a huge and fascinating glass 20 years before the Eif- place with lakes, meadows and fel Tower was built. The cei- little bridges, ideal to spend ling vaults are decorated with some time in the fresh air. The mosaics representing the con- park is home to monuments tinents. For its grand style it such as the Arena Napoleois also known as “il salotto di nica, the Branca Tower deMilano”, Milan‘s living room. signed by Giò Ponti and the Milan is a haute couture pow- Triennale di Milano, a design erhouse, where fashions jump museum which hosts exhibifrom catwalk to clothes rail in tions and events. weeks, so if you feel like shopping don’t miss the Quadrila- If you’re looking for art coll-
The EuroSpine App provides exhibition area. all information about the EuroSpine 2011 Conference di- Furthermore watch all the rectly on your smartphone. conference videos and read an ePaper version of „The Spine Learn about the EuroSpine Times“ on your handheld deSociety and its board mem- vice! bers and get the latest news about the conference! Explore Visit the scientific program, get to http://app.eurospine.org know all the speakers and read or scan this QR-code with the practical information about camera of your smartphone! the congress venue and the
ISSue 2 /// Thursday, October 20, 2011 /// eurospine2011.com
Page 3 Membership Information ections don’t miss a visit to Pinacoteca di Brera, opened up in 1809 by Napoleon Bonaparte, which covers works by major Italian artists from the 13th to the 20th centuries, included Mantegna‘s Dead Christ, Piero della Francesca‘s Virgin and Child with Saints and Caravaggio‘s Supper at Emmaus and many others. Not far from the Duomo you can find Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the oldest museum of the city opened in 1609 and home to some masterpieces by artists such as Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello and Botticelli. The famous Leonardo’s Last Supper is worth a visit to Santa Maria delle Grazie church, but if you do not book in advance, it is almost impossible to get the ticket.
world. It was inaugurated in 1778 with an opera by Salieri, and many great works by Puccini, Verdi and Bellini have premièred here. It has become a symbol of national pride. If you have time take a walk to Navigli, the little Venice of Milan. The canals aren’t very extensive and they are not used as means of transportation any more, but it is an oddity in the city that is fun to check out in person. The picturesque Navigli area is famous for nightlife, shops and open air markets. Finally if you are a football fan the San Siro Stadium is an essential place of pilgrimage. This 85,000-seater is home to two rival clubs, AC Milan and FC Internazionale, which are among the most powerful in the world. Even on non-match days, a tour and a visit to the museum gives an insight into the powerhouse of football.
If you are in love with opera then La Scala Theatre is where to go. It has a massive stage, 2.015 seats and some Maria Carolina Guidotti of the best acoustics in the
watch the Interviews Online Watch all interviews on www.youtube.com/eurospineorg or scan these QR-codes to watch them directly on your smartphone!
Interview Björn Strömqvist
Interview Haluk Berk
Interview Local Hosts
Meet & Greet May we introduce, Mrs. Anna Ganthaler, to you? continued interest in spinal disorders the high quality of EuroSpine and its actions can be ensured.
Anna Ganthaler
She is the new membership officer at EuroSpine and your contact person for all questions related to your membership. She recently joined the society and was formerly working for a PCO in Austria. Some of you might recognize her from the Vienna meeting last year.
That is why • your CV should clearly show a particular interest in spinal matters. • the letter of recommendation either signed by a member of the society, the head of your department or a professional association should state the recommendation for membership at EuroSpine. A general recommendation is not sufficient. Your membership shall then be determined by proposal to the Membership Committee and approved by the Executive Committee. Do you need help? Come and see the EuroSpine staff at booth No. 109!
What are the Benefits? Anna is “happy to be part of EuroSpine and For currently only EUR 140 you benefit from thus be able to contribute to the development of • membership of that year the society.” To meet the existing and prospec- • subscription to the European Spine Journal tive members is what she is looking forward to. ® Springer Publisher of that year • reduced registration fee at the annual EuroVisit her at the EuroSpine booth No. 109 and Spine annual meeting get to know her. • login to the member area within the societies‘ website including download of annuGeneral al report, webcasts exclusively until three Citations from members to prospective ones: months after the conference e.g. Specialists from across Europe tell us why Besides that, we are constantly working on imthey think it‘s important to be a member of proving the services for our members. EuroSpine, the Spine Society of Europe. Join over 500 medical professionals and apply for Do you have any suggestions on what you would membership today. like to have included in your membership? We are more than happy for your feedback. How to apply for membership? Applying for membership is easy. You can do Drop by at the EuroSpine booth No.109 and this online by filling in the form and submitting tell Anna or fill out the survey and receive a two additional documents: your ‘Curriculum Vi- famous pair of Italian ‘Gallo’ socks or drop an tae’ (CV) as well as a letter of recommendation. E-Mail to ganthaler@eurospine.org Both documents have to be submitted in English, as this is EuroSpine’s official language. www.eurospine.org We think that only by our members’ demonstrated scientific or management interest in spinal disorders and the related problems and
eurospine2011.com /// Thursday, October 20, 2011 /// ISSue 2
Page 4 Interview questions to the local hosts:
Interview with Ciaran Bolger
Claudio Lamartina & Marco Brayda-Bruno were interviewed by Marco Teli & Emre Acaroglu. Dear local hosts, thank you for welcoming EuroSpine in Milano.
Ciaran Bolger, President of interviewed by Emre Acaroglu.
the
EuroSpine
Society,
was
Dear Mr. President, welcome to Milano! Could you briefly describe your year of presidency to our readers? It’s been a very busy year, I think we have achieved a lot in the year! When I came in, I wanted to make the organization more professional. I think we’ve achieved that to a large degree. We’ve contract signed with our employees which was a big issue for me. We’ve rewound the annual report and made it look more professional and we’ve achieved a lot in particular in relation to our education program. We’ve continued an education program which is now increasingly educating more spine surgeons, more and more in cooperation with the national societies. And we’ve also been sorting out the SPINE TANGO, the registry for surgeons. So it’s been a very busy year.
Claudio Lamartina
Marco Brayda-Bruno
What was your main motivation to host a EuroSpine meeting in Milano? In 2006 Marco and I were in EuroSpine meeting in Istanbul and he proposed me to organize an EuroSpine meeting in Milano...I realized that it was a great idea; at that time we started to work on this project. The main reasons were and are: I strongly believe in EuroSpine society and in my country, Italy.
The pride to be the first Italian hosts to welcome a EuroSpine meeting .. an honor for Italy and for Milano, the global economical capital of Italy…
What is special about EuroSpine Milano? Firstly this is the first time the EuroSpine meeting is held in Italy. Secondly the Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi in Milano has a great vocation on spine surgery, in fact there are 5 neurological and orthopedic spine surgery departments.
Milano is an ancient town with historical tradition but also with a strong perspective towards future… the synthesis of that is in the meeting motto we have chosen “… merging hi-tech with hi-fi…” and is what we are dealing We know that your presidential address is going to be on with every day in our practice as spine surgeons… “navigation” (Thursday 10.30h, Plenary Hall) and we also know that you are a pilot and trained astronaut yourself. So what is this navigation about? Is it navigation in the OR, or You have invested a lot of work in the preparation of this meeting, are you satisfied navigating the society through troubled waters? with the echo so far? I think you’ll have to wait and see. It is a bit of everything, navigation in I have the feeling that this meeting has created a great I think that annual Eurospine meeting is becoming more general, navigation in theatre, generally the history of navigation. Something expectation not only in Europe but also in all the word. and more “the” worldwide spine event of the year… so that is not too spine related, I thought I’ll do a bit of general interest. At the beginning of 2011 I was invited in many mee- we expect a lot of spine specialists from all continents, tings all over the word (Malta, Taiwan, Thailand, etc.) and I had many feedback from European and extraeuand many surgeons asked me about EuroSpine meeting ropean friends about their participation… in Milano. What would you hope to have gained after/from EuroSpine Milano? I hope that the italian spine surgery and Italy can implement their visibility.
Higher credibility and consideration about the spine surgery level reached by Italian school…
Any welcome message to the participants for the start? It is great pleasure and honor to welcome all participants at this meeting. I wish all participants to have the opportunity to implement their knowledge in spine surgery. I am sure also that Milano can offer a warm hospitality and opportunity to have a great time.
Thank you for coming, and please appreciate the scientific level of this meeting but enjoy as well the traditional Italian warm athmosfere and fashion with a walk in the center of our city… Any final comments before your address? Especially, any advise to our new president, Dr. Le Huec? Be prepared to sit up at night time doing e-mails, a lot of e-mails and at Anything else you wanted to add? the weekends doing a lot of emails. It’s a challenging year but it’s a very Thank you to EuroSpine secretariat in the person of Judith and of Haluk Berk, as well as to the Program Com- rewarding year and I just encourage him to put his head down, take on the mittee and Ahmet Alanay to have set up a wonderful program… Finally we would like to recognize the value and challenges and get on with it! professionality of AIM, our local PCO, that has worked so hard to make this meeting a success… Imprint
In the next Issue
The Spine Times is a free congress newspaper published by the EuroSpine Society.
Publisher: Ciaran Bolger (EuroSpine President) Haluk Berk (EuroSpine Secretary)
Publishing House: EuroSpine, the Spine Society of Europe
Local Hosts: Marco Brayda-Bruno, Claudio Lamartina
c/o J. Reichert Schild Seefeldstrasse 16 8610 Uster-Zürich Switzerland Contact: info@eurospine.org
Thank you very much.
Editor-in-Chief: Christian Lendl On-Site Editors: Emre Acaroglu, Marco Teli Web: www.thespinetimes.com
Contributors: Emre Acaroglu, Pietro Bartolozzi, Susanna Bonfiglio, Maria Carolina Guidotti, Sophie Haslinger, Marco Teli Photographs: Martin Steiger, Shutterstock Feedback: editor@thespinetimes.com Powered by:
Read the final part of Pietro Bartolozzi‘s „Brief History of Spinal Surgery in Italy“ and get to know Haluk Berk, Secretary of EuroSpine. Find out more about the award winners Antonius Rohlmann and Leena Ristolainen and become acquainted with EuroSpine’s education plans.