Edward R. Laws, Jr., MD, FACS, of Charlottesville, Virginia, became the 65th President of The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) during ceremonies held at the Association’s 1997 Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
Dr. Laws currently serves as Professor of Medicine and Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia, and as Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery at George Washington University. He previously spent 15 years on the staff of the Mayo Clinic. He is widely known for his expertise in pituitary surgery, and has published extensively on pediatric surgery, brain tumor surgery, and epilepsy surgery.
Dr. Laws earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and sociology from Princeton University. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he also completed his surgical internship and residency.
An active member of the AANS since 1975, he has held a number of leadership positions, including that of Treasurer (1992-95) and member of the Board of Directors (1989-1995). He currently serves as the Neurosurgical Regent to the American College of Surgeons Board of Regents (1995 to present) and as a member of the Executive Council of the AANS Research Foundation.
A prolific author and researcher, Dr. Laws has written more than 200 articles for peer-reviewed journals, seven books, 89 book chapters, and 145 abstracts and editorials. He also served as Editor of the scientific journal Neurosurgery (1987-92), and currently is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery. A dedicated educator as well, Dr. Laws has lectured and done visiting professorships at medical schools and clinics all over the world.
In addition to his volunteer activities with the AANS, Dr. Laws has taken on active leadership roles in several other professional societies, including serving as President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (1984) and Secretary of The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (Present). He was a founding member of the American Pituitary Association, the Brain Surgery Society, the International Society of Pituitary Surgeons, and the Pituitary Society. Dr. Laws also holds memberships in the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the American Epilepsy Society.
Dr. Laws and his wife, Margaret, are the parents of four daughters.
Following are some brief comments from Dr. Laws as he embarks upon his year as President of the AANS. If you have questions for Dr. Laws, he may be reached at his e-mail address: [email protected].
What are some of the key issues facing neurosurgery in the year ahead?
Among the major issues we will be tackling this year are the questions surrounding fellowship education and subspeciality certification. The AANS has developed a Task Force to investigate this. There are a lot of strong feelings in this area, but the Task Force will consider the issues, try to establish if subspecialization within neurosurgery is the trend, determine how we can qualify neurosurgeons in the subspecialties and make a recommendation. We will also continue to be heavily involved in the practice expense issue, pedicle screw litigation, and recertification.
With the growth of different interests in neurosurgery, will it be difficult to maintain a sense of unification and focus as one specialty?
This issue is slowly starting to fade. In the beginning there was a lot of tension between the different Sections and the main organizations as the Sections fought to find their identity. But, in the past few years, most of the Sections have matured and with that maturity comes a confidence in what they do. You can see and feel a real team spirit and that is terrific. It makes the whole organization more effective.
You have been very involved with the AANS and other professional organizations throughout your career, why do you feel this is so important?
Anytime I attend a conference or lecture, it is very stimulating and I always learn something. On the international level, I believe it is very important for Americans to take a role in the international neurosurgery arena because we have so much to offer. In return, neurosurgeons from other countries approach problems from a completely different point of view and that can be very stimulating. Working with my colleagues is one of the ways I relax.
As an educator, what is your guiding philosophy behind teaching residents?
I like to get residents when they are first starting out and teach them good habits in all phases of neurosurgery. Thorough patient care outside the OR can be just as important as what happens inside the operating room. Learning surgical techniques may be our top priority, but it can never be forgotten that we are taking care of people.
Since you began your medical career, there have been many changes in technology and procedures. What do you feel are some of the significant milestones in neurosurgery over the past 35 years, and what principles still hold true?
The advances in imaging are by far the most important and have been critical to the changes in neurosurgery. Microsurgery, computer-guided surgery and endovascular surgery have also come a long way and changed the way patients are treated. We have not yet seen the full impact of computer technology and endovascular surgery.
What will always hold true is that we must talk and listen to our patients because our goal is still to help them deal with some very difficult diseases. We must remain flexible in how we apply these new technologies to our patients.
For this and many more reasons, I truly hope more neurosurgeons will take advantage of NEUROSURGERY://ON-CALL® on the Internet because the amount of information you find there is boundless. New and more effective treatments need to be communicated and this is the forum to do it.
As you begin your Presidential Year, is there any one message you have for members?
Yes. Nobody else can do what we do in neurosurgery and no one is going to take away our livelihood or our operations. Things may change, but there will always be neurosurgeons and we will always be compensated for our work.
What are some of your interests outside of medicine?
I have four daughters and one grandson. I enjoy tennis, sailing, and studying aviation and medical history. I have traveled extensively throughout the world, but haven’t yet found a place that I like as well as the Chesapeake Bay area.