Taking care of a trauma victim that is near death with a blown pupil and being able to save their life is one of the greatest appeals of neurosurgery. Indeed, many medical students are drawn to neurosurgery because of its ability to significantly save the life of a trauma victim. However, during residency, there is often a shift away from wanting to be involved in neurotrauma. Unpredictable or low reimbursement, unpredictable hours and, unfortunately, too many poor patient outcomes that can occur have deterred many residents from working in neurotrauma.
Over the next couple months, AANS Neurosurgeon articles include the current Chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Neurotrauma and Critical Care (JSNCC), Dr. David Okonkwo, revealing his efforts in trying to encourage neurotrauma in neurosurgical departments and how to make a living in neurotrauma. To improve outcomes with respect to spinal cord injury, Drs. Saadoun and Marios Papadopoulos shed light on some technological advances with respect to spinal cord perfusion pressure monitoring which may help improve the management and outcomes of patients with spinal cord injury. To improve the management of traumatic brain injury, Drs. Randy Chesnut and Greg Hawyluk will enlighten us on their work to simplify and improve the care of patients with traumatic brain injury and to advance education on the management of traumatic brain injury. Dr. Andreas Rubiano will also shed light on how this work on traumatic brain injury is being applied internationally.
While the effects of neurotrauma are not funny, we have still tried to include some humor, like the comic from yours truly featured above, to help us on our journey to improve patient outcomes. We need to continue to strive to encourage the best and the brightest among us and nurture the spark that drew us make a difference in a neurotrauma patient and power through the “wall” to improve outcomes. As the guest editor for this issue of the AANS Neurosurgeon and the current Secretary/Treasurer of the JSNCC, I would like to thank Dr. Aruna Ganju, for giving us this opportunity to highlight the work that we are doing to advance neurotrauma and critical care for the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.
