Stroke Intervention Symposium Discusses Latest Therapies from Expert Vascular Neurosurgeons

Stroke Intervention Symposium Discusses Latest Therapies from Expert Vascular Neurosurgeons

Dr. Jonathan Brisman, one of an elite group of 80 American dual-trained endovascular and microvascular neurosurgeons, led a recent symposium on Stroke Intervention in Melville, Long Island. Some of the latest techniques and treatment options were discussed.

Melville, NY (PRWEB) June 30, 2009 -- Internationally-recognized and regional leaders in cerebrovascular disease converged on the Melville Marriot hotel last week to participate in the "Stroke Intervention" symposium hosted by Winthrop University Hospital and led by vascular neurosurgeon Jonathan Brisman of Neurological Surgery, P.C. Dr. Brisman, one of an elite group of 80 American dual-trained endovascular neurosurgeons, has been practicing both endovascular and microvascular neurosurgery on Long Island (http://www.neurosurgeryli.com) for approximately one and a half years as a member of Neurological Surgery, P.C. and served as the Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery at Winthrop University Hospital.

"The timing of the symposium," explained Brisman, "was meant to coincide with the April, 2009 publication of A Primer on Stroke Prevention and Treatment, published by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and containing Dr. Brisman's co-authored chapter on subarachnoid hemorrhage." Brisman explained that "it just made sense to have a symposium to celebrate the publication of this important textbook summarizing the recent guidelines on Stroke."

The half day event, attended by over 65 physicians, nurses, physician-assistants and hospital administrators, featured both regional stroke experts as well as several internationally and nationally recognized leaders in cerebrovascular care. The textbook was given out as a free token to the 50 physician registrants.

After a welcome introduction by Dr. Brisman, the audience heard from Dr. Elzbieta Wirkowski, Chief of Stroke Neurology at Winthrop University Hospital and Co-director of the Neuroscience ICU. Her topic, "Neurocritical Care and the Neurointensivist" was apropos given the success Winthrop has seen after their establishment of the first such ICU on Long Island in 2002. Dr. Paul Wright, Director of Stroke Neurology at St. Francis Hospital, then discussed the importance of intravenous tPA for stroke patients and the need to move quickly to meet the 3-hour time window from the onset of stroke required for this treatment. The first session closed with a talk by Dr. John Pile-Spellman, Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital, in which he went over the indications and potential benefits of endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke using intraarterial tPA and the Merci and Penumbra clot retrieval devices. Pile-Spellman and Brisman have both written extensively on endovascular therapy for acute stroke and were both of the opinion that this is a terribly much underutilized therapy for Long Islanders. "I think the symposium was a huge success, particularly if it made people more aware that there are lots of options available for stroke victims with large vessel occlusions that present to the hospital between 0 and 8 hours and perhaps even longer," explained Pile-Spellman.

In the second session, Chief of Stroke Neurology at Huntington Hospital and the founder of the newly opened Neurocognitive Center, Dr. Max Rudansky regaled the audience with a mesmerizing talk on the neurocognitive injury that stroke victims are susceptible to and some of the cutting edge techniques available to evaluate these and provide therapy. Dr. Brisman then spoke on cerebral aneurysms and subarachnoid hemorrhage, a topic he has received national acclaim for after his publication of the review article on this topic in The New England Journal of Medicine in August, 2006. Present for the talk was Dr. Mel Greenberg, a retired neurosurgeon and founder of Neurological Surgery P.C. at Winthrop Hospital. Greenberg, now 88, is the inventor of the famous "Greenberg Retractor System" used commonly in brain surgery today.

"I have seen Dr. Jonathan Brisman operate and I can tell you, having seen lots and lots of surgeons, that he is simply one of the best," adds Greenberg. "When I first developed the retractor system I was invited to travel the country and the world to teach top surgeons how to use the device. Brisman is up there with the very best and it is a real privilege for Long Islanders to have access to this level of care."

The last part of the conference started with vascular neurosurgical superstar Dr. Fady Charbel, Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Chicago, Illinois. Charbel is well-known as the neurosurgical inventor of the quantitative MRA technology, in which MRI can be used to non-invasively measure blood flow (in cc/minute) in blood vessels of the brain and neck for the first time. Winthrop University Hospital, currently the only hospital on Long Island to have quantitative MRA (or "QMRA") brought the technology in for Dr. Brisman some four months ago to support his burgeoning practice of cerebrovascular revascularization including extracranial-intracranial bypass, cerebral aneurysm therapy and stenting. "It was a real treat having Dr. Charbel there to teach us about this new and very important technology for cerebrovascular care," explains Brisman, "He is really a master in the field and I think having people like Dr. Charbel speak to us will lead to enhanced awareness of how quantifying blood flow can lead to a greater understanding of stroke and lead to improved patient outcomes."

The symposium closed with a talk by Dr. Ketan Bulsara on intracranial atherosclerotic disease and its medical and surgical therapy. Dr. Bulsara, also an endovascular neurosurgeon, is currently the Director of Skull Base and Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at Yale University. While Bulsara acknowledged the promise behind newly available FDA-approved intracranial stents, he cautioned that due to the phenomenon of restenosis and the uncertain natural history of this disease the verdict is still out on when it should be used.

Dr. Brisman is one of 16 neurosurgeons that make up Neurological Surgery, P.C., currently the largest neurosurgical group in the tri-state area (http://www.neurosurgeryli.com) . He is the first and only physician in Nassau County and Queens to have placed the FDA-approved Wingspan intracranial stent and is also the only neurosurgeon in Nassau and Queens who performs carotid endarterectomy and extranial-intracranial bypass. He can be reached at: 516-300-1281. http://www.neurosurgeryli.com

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Contact Information Neurological Surgery, P.C.

Neurological Surgery, P.C.

http://www.neurosurgeryli.com

516-300-1281