Anthony Yeung, MD, of Phoenix-based Desert Institute for Spine Care, attended China's 2017 Forum on Functional Neurosurgery where he gained insight on the country's introduction to endoscopic spine surgery.
Here are six insights:
1. Spine surgery experts from around the world attended the annual meeting to discus the future of neuro/spine navigation, surgical robots and augmented reality. Yongjie Li, MD, chaired the 2017 Forum on Functional Neurosurgery.
2. Hongwei Zhu, MD, was the first to introduce fellow surgeons to the possibilities of endoscopic spine surgery. Dr. Zhu noted endoscopic surgery could be the next breakthrough in functional neurosurgery in China.
3. Fellow attendees discussed selective endoscopic disectomy, a technique for surgically treating pain generators in the lumbar spine. Physicians held sessions on surgical pain management and treating common pathology in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine.
4. Over the two days of sessions, leading physicians shared insights on movement disorders, epilepsy surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. On the final day, physicians gathered to discuss deep brain and peripheral nerve stimulation, refractory epilepsy multimodal evolution and micro vascular
decompression.
5. Dr. Yeung also unveiled the Yeung Endoscopy Society, which includes 40 fellow spine surgeons who have been trained by Dr. Yeung.
6. In previous years, China has been encouraged to lead efforts in the advancement of endoscopic surgery. The addition to endoscopic spine surgery on its neurosurgery and clinical platforms is another step in the country becoming a global leader in functional neurosurgery.