The AANS/CNS Joint Section on Pain continues to be involved in a number of activities important to our neurosurgical colleagues.
Satellite Workshop
One of the most exciting upcoming events for the Section on Pain is the satellite workshop to be held October 2-4, 1996 at the tail-end of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in Montreal. This workshop will have a faculty of 21 neurosurgeons and will cover ablative, augmentative, and trigeminal procedures.
To maximize faculty/participant interactions, the registration will be limited to only 50 post-residency neurosurgeons. There will be 50 additional tuition-free slots for neurosurgical residents. Kim Burchiel, MD, will contact each residency program director to have them each identify one resident in obtaining these skills.
At the upcoming AANS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis there will be a number of educational opportunities available to neurosurgeons with an interest in pain management. The Joint Section on Pain will offer its program on Wednesday afternoon, May 1. The main symposium topic will be “Persistent Pain after Spinal Surgery – What do I do now?” With David Kelly, MD, Joel Seres, MD, and John Loesser, MD, as speakers. In addition, the William H. Sweet Young Investigator Award will be presented to John G. Piper, MD, from the University of Iowa.
Also on the schedule are three practical clinics on pain topics, including a full-day session on “Neuroaugmentative Procedures for Pain Control” (#018) and half-day sessions on “Ablative Neurosurgery for Pain” (#008) and “Trigeminal Neuralgia.” (#004). In addition, two breakfast seminars “Neurosurgical Management of Cancer Pain” (#114) and “Surgical Options for Trigeminal Neuralgia” (#416) will be offered.
New CPT Codes
As of January 1st, new implantable pump CPT codes have been in effect. There are separate codes for spinal catheter placement (62350) and programmable pump placement (62362), with codes now available for catheter revision (62355) and pump revision (62365). The RVU values for each of these procedures matches closely those for spinal stimulation.
A Section mailing to all members of the AANS and the CNS is being sent to detail the available codes and RVU values for both implantable pump and stimulation procedures. The mailing also serves as a first notice for the satellite workshop at the Montreal meeting in October.
Neurosurgical Pain Management Task Force
A special task force has been created under the leadership of Roberto Heros, MD, and with the active involvement of Kim Burchiel, MD, to examine the role of neurosurgery in the field of pain management, specifically in relation to neurosurgical residency training, accreditation of neurosurgical pain management fellowships, and multi-specialty certifications in pain medicine via a conjoint board, for example the American Board of Pain Medicine.
Implantable Device Standards
Richard North, MD, in conjunction with the Drugs and Devices Committee, has completed work on a set of voluntary standards for implantable stimulators. Similar standards are being developed for implantable, programmable infusion pumps.
Other Activities
Efforts have begun to establish new codes for CPT ’98 for thoracic and cervical facet block and facet denervation. The Section will be sending a representative to a Joint Section meeting on Neurosurgical Outcomes, convened by Richard Toselli, MD. This meeting should lay the foundation for development of formal production of outcome studies in the various neurosurgical areas.
The Pain Section’s chairmanship will soon be transferred to Robert Levy, MD. The Section will continue to emphasize use of work groups of neurosurgeons to improve working conditions in the field of pain management for all of our neurosurgical colleagues. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at any time by e-mail ([email protected]) or by fax (713) 794-4950.