I fell asleep after a long day of surgery and found myself dreaming about the Straits of Magellan. This area of the world has held long-term interest for me both historically and cartographically, and over the years I have been able to acquire several maps that depict the straits from the 16th century to modern times.
History credits Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan with becoming the first to circumnavigate the globe. This fact only hints at the arduous journey that he undertook, commissioned by the king of Spain to find a passage through the New World to the Spice Islands. In 1519 Magellan embarked on the voyage during which he would encounter the hazardous straits that now bear his name.
A Cultural Connection: WFNS and AANS
My journey in September to Lisbon is, perhaps, what turned my subconscious thoughts to the tenacious navigator. In Lisbon, where it seems that homage to the famed explorers of the Renaissance can be seen everywhere, the American Association of Neurological Surgery (AANS) was awarded the honor of hosting XIV International Congress of Neurological Surgery, Aug. 23-28, 2009. The meeting will be held in Boston, an historic American city that is amply prepared, as is the AANS, to welcome our colleagues and friends from around the world to a spectacular event. I personally thank the delegates of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies for awarding the AANS this opportunity and I especially thank those within the AANS who worked so diligently to produce and present an exemplary proposal.
I also invite our international colleagues to join us for the 72nd AANS Annual Meeting, May 1-6, 2004, in Orlando, Fla. Taking its cue from the theme “Advancing Patient Care Through Technology and Creativity,” this meeting will rigorously explore neurosurgical topics in four plenary sessions and more, while applying a creative lens to the continued advancement of patient care.
Through the Straits: NPHCA’s Campaign
Perhaps my nocturnal vision of the treacherous Straits of Magellan had more to do with a difficult “journey” for which neurosurgery has been preparing over the past few months: that is, neurosurgery’s campaign for federal medical liability reform, addressed in detail in the cover story. While it may seem that neurosurgery is out of its depth tackling a legislative issue of this complexity in the national arena, it must be reiterated that there is no greater threat to neurosurgery than the medical liability crisis, which is aided and abetted by the out-of-control and fundamentally unjust system by which liability claims are adjudicated, and that this fight is necessary to preserve our patients’ access to neurosurgical care.
The AANS fully supports Neurosurgeons to Preserve Health Care Access (NPHCA). As Stewart Dunsker, MD, who serves as that organization’s president, details in an article in this issue, the NPHCA will captain neurosurgery’s campaign for federal medical liability reform and represent neurosurgery in Doctors for Medical Liability Reform, the coalition of high-risk specialties that lends ballast to the effort. If you have not yet responded to the call for each neurosurgeon to contribute at least $1,000 annually for three years to NPHCA and help fund the campaign for federal medical liability reform, I invite you to use the envelope in this issue and make your contribution today.