Skull Base
Chair: Wenya Linda Bi, MD, PhD
Co-Chair: Daniel M. Prevedello, MD
Members: Vincent Dinapoli, MD, Ian Dunn, MD, Michael Ivan, MD, Michael Link, MD, and Gordon Li, MD
The skull base community opened the year with the 32nd annual meeting of the North American Skull Base Society (NASBS) on February 17-19, 2023, in Tampa, Florida, presided by Dr. Lee Zimmer and program co-chairs, Drs. Donato, Pacione and Arturo Solares. Focused on the theme NASBS: Friends and Family, moe than 880 attendees gathered to discuss and debate topics of shared interest across specialties contributing to the skull base field, with more than 250 oral presentations and a similar number of poster presentations. A new video abstract and presentation format further enhanced communication about surgical nuances.
Bridging the strata of career progression, a monthly “Building a Practice” webinar series was launched in June 2023 as a joint effort between the Tumor Section, NASBS and the WFNS Skull Base Committee. Upcoming topics planned span: what a skull base surgery job means today, the contribution of a cranial surgeon to the healthcare system, building a team, pearls and pitfalls of a career in skull base / tumor neurosurgery, choosing fellows and fellowships, coding and reimbursement, how to navigate social media, among others. We look forward to the contribution and participation of Tumor Section members in this effort.
In September, we return to Washington DC for the Biennial AANS/CNS Section on Tumor Symposium. Don’t miss out on the Skull Base scientific portion of the Symposium on recurrent meningiomas on Friday, September 8, 2023, focusing on the prediction and treatment of recurrent meningiomas including topics on predicting disease behavior, predicting response to radiation, molecular clinical trials and surgical consideration for recurrences and complication avoidance.
The 2023 CNS annual meeting, presided by Dr. Elad Levy with the theme of Imagine, Innovate, and Inspire follows the Section’s Symposium. The tumor team is well represented by Annual Meeting chair Dr. Lola Chambless, scientific program directors Drs. Garni Barkhoudarian and Edjah Nduom, amongst many others in crafting a robust program for all. On Sunday, September 10, a special symposium co-hosted by the CNS and NASBS will feature “Sellar and Suprasellar Tumors Outside the Box.”
At the end of this year, the broader circle of skull base neurosurgeons will gather at the 18th World Congress of Neurosurgery, sponsored by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) in December 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
We look forward to seeing colleagues and meeting new friends in upcoming events!