New Polytrauma System of Care Yields Tremendous Hope

Odette A. Harris MD, MPH, FAANS Department of Neurosurgery Stanford University Medical Center Director, Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center Stanford, CA Advancement of medical knowledge has often occurred during and after wars. For neurosurgery, the Civil War brought an understanding of peripheral nerve injuries and infection prevention, while World War I enabled a clearer understanding […]

Equestrian Traumatic Brain Injury – Opportunities to Acknowledge, Educate and Guide

Ann R. Stroink, MD, FAANS Central Illinois Neuro Health Science Bloomington, IL The fall season soon approaches with exhilarating thoughts of crisp air, bonfires and outdoor sports! It is also the season when the media will focus on concussions in professional football players. This draws attention to the potential hazards of football, with needed public […]

Achieving Greatness: #ConcussionFacts

Christine Hammer, MD, Neurosurgery Resident, Thomas Jefferson University (left) Analiz Rodriguez, MD, PhD, Neurosurgical Oncology Fellow, City of Hope National Medical Center (middle) Clemens M. Schirmer, MD, PhD, Geisinger Health System (right)  As the world focused on the competitive athletes of the summer 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, we were inundated with stories of athletes […]

NFL Advancing Progress on the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Concussions

H. Hunt Batjer, MD, FAANS, FACS (left) Co-Chair, National Football League Head, Neck and Spine Committee Dallas, TX Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD, FAANS, FACS (right) Co-Chair, National Football League Head, Neck and Spine Committee Seattle, WA The National Football League (NFL) has a tremendous opportunity, if not responsibility, to continue to advance progress on the […]

BCBSA Report: Concussion Diagnoses Spiked in the U.S. from 2010 through 2015

From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places when we believe they hit the mark on an issue. As such, we wanted to draw your attention to a new Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) report entitled, “The Steep Rise in Concussion Diagnoses in […]

Pediatric Trauma: Number One Killer of Children in the United States

Guest post from Representative Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) Member, House Energy and Commerce Committee and Co-Chair of the Pediatric Trauma Caucus Pediatric trauma is the number one killer of children in the United States. One person dies from an injury every three minutes in the United States. Because children have significant anatomical and physiological differences from […]

Faces of Neurosurgery: TRACK-ing Progress in Traumatic Brain Injury

Guest post from Kristopher T. Kimmell, MD Neurosurgical Resident, University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester, NY By now many have grown numb to the statistics regarding traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States. Over two million people see a medical professional for symptoms related to a traumatic head injury each year. If these numbers […]

AANS Neurosurgeon Spotlight: September 2016 – Neurotrauma

The AANS Neurosurgeon is the official socioeconomic publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), and features information and analysis for contemporary neurosurgical practice. It focuses on topics related to legislation, workforce issues and practice management as they affect the specialty of neurosurgery. The September 2016 edition of AANS Neurosurgeon explores the theme, “Neurotrauma,” […]

ThinkFirst About Concussion

Debby Gerhardstein, RN, BSN, MA (left) Executive Director ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation Naperville, Illinois Mark A. Spatola, MD, FAANS (right) Chairman, ThinkFirst Board of Directors Orange Park Neurosurgery Orange Park, Florida Over the years, the topic of concussion has moved from behind the shadows of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) to take on a […]

We Are Talking Past One Another!

By General Peter Chiarelli (Ret.) Chief Executive Officer, One Mind Scientific chaos seems to rule in the world of concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI). This may come as a surprise given the high profile concussions have been given recently. For example, the National Football League (NFL) has been denigrated for hiding the effects of […]