So You Want to Be a Brain Surgeon?

What is it that makes the brain so special for neurosurgeons? Is it because the brain defines who we are? Perhaps it is the fear of the loss of a person’s identity or the chance to restore normal life. Is it the close proximity of brain regions that are responsible for diverse functions, such as pain or language? Or is that there is still so much to be discovered about the brain?

Thousands of years ago, the brain was operated on with stone tools and no anaesthetic. Amazingly, some people survived these crude attempts.

We’ve come a long way since then, but the stakes are still high. Technology and teamwork have transformed brain surgery. Brain scanners can reveal damage in detail so that surgeons know in advance what they are dealing with. Powerful drills cut neatly through the skull leaving the delicate tissue underneath intact. Electrocautery stops the bleeding and operating microscopes enable the team to see minute structures of the brain, highly magnified, during an operation.

Brain surgeons will describe the history of neurosurgery, what is possible now and might be in the future, and finally, how patients and their family come through the experience. Some of the latest surgical technology and instruments will be demonstrated.

Then it is your turn. And this is where the jelly and eggs come in.

You will have the chance to try your surgical skills with some mock procedures under the expert eye of those who do it every day.

Please note that as sharp instruments may be handled, no alcohol will be served this evening.

Event organised by:
The European Dana Alliance for the Brain and Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals

Speakers

David McCormick
Richard Selway
Nick Thomas
all from King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, London

Chair
Edward McKintosh, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals

Demonstrations of surgical equipment produced by Codman, Medtronic and Stryker