Background: Entering neurosurgical training in the United Kingdom demands extensive prior commitment and achievement, despite little to no exposure to the specialty in medical school. Conferences run by student “neuro-societies” offer a means to bridge this gap. This paper describes one student-led neuro-society’s experience of curating a 1-day national neurosurgical conference supported by our neurosurgical department. Methods: A pre-and post-conference survey was distributed to attendees to ascertain baseline opinions and conference impact using a five-point Likert Scale, and free text questions explored medical students’ opinions of neurosurgery and neurosurgical training. The conference offered four lectures and three workshops; the latter provided practical skills and networking opportunities. There were also 11 posters displayed throughout the day. Results: 47 medical students participated in our study. Post-conference, participants were more likely to understand what a neurosurgical career involves and how to secure training. They also reported increased knowledge about neurosurgery research, electives, audits, and project opportunities. Respondents enjoyed the workshops provided and suggested the inclusion of more female speakers in future. Conclusion: Neurosurgical conferences organized by student neuro-societies successfully address the gap between a lack of neurosurgery exposure and a competitive training selection. These events give medical students an initial understanding of a neurosurgical career through lectures and practical workshops; attendees also gain insight into attaining relevant achievements and have an opportunity to present research. Student neuro-society-organized conferences have the potential to be adopted internationally and used as a tool to educate on a global level and greatly aid medical students who are aspiring neurosurgeons.

To evaluate the status of UK undergraduate urology teaching against the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Undergraduate Syllabus for Urology. Secondary objectives included evaluating the type and quantity of teaching provided, the reported performance rate of General Medical Council (GMC)-mandated urological procedures, and the proportion of undergraduates considering urology as a career. Subjects and MethodsThe uroLogical tEAching in bRitish medical schools Nationally (LEARN) study was a national multicentre cross-sectional evaluation. Year 2 to Year 5 medical students and Foundation Year (FY) 1 doctors were invited to complete a survey between 3 October and 20 December 2020, retrospectively assessing the urology teaching received to date. Results are reported according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). ResultsIn all, 7063/8346 (84.6%) responses from all 39 UK medical schools were included; 1127/7063 (16.0%) were from FY1 doctors who reported that the most frequently taught topics in undergraduate training were on urinary tract infection (96.5%), acute kidney injury (95.9%) and haematuria (94.4%). The most infrequently taught topics were male urinary incontinence (59.4%), male infertility (52.4%) and erectile dysfunction (43.8%). Male and female catheterisation on patients as undergraduates was performed by 92.1% and 73.0% of FY1 doctors respectively, and 16.9% had considered a career in urology. Theory-based teaching was mainly prevalent in the early years of medical school, with clinical skills teaching, and

Over the years, as our standards and outreach grew, Glasgow Neuro gained support and sponsorship from international companies, including major medical charities, airlines, and corporations, to support the Society's events, of which, the flagship is our annual conference. Over the past decade, we have been able to bring a range of speakers to Scotland who are authorities from across the globe, including the chief of neurosurgery at John Hopkins, Henry Brem, and the previous director of pediatric neurosurgery George Jallo. May other esteemed speakers like the chief of neurosurgery at Harvard, Robert Martuza, Professor Sir Graham Teasdale, Professor Charlie Teo, Professor James Goodrich, Professor Henry Marsh, and pioneer of deep brain stimulation Professor Alim Louis Benabid have also honored the occasion. We never shied away from controversial topics and brought Professor Sergio Canavero, who revealed his ongoing head-transplant research at our 2016 conference. After Allan, the past presidents and www.surgicalneurologyint.com

No abstract

Cardiovascular changes following lumbar spine surgery in a prone position are exceedingly rare. Over the past 20 years, a total of six cases have been published where patients experienced varying degrees of bradycardia, hypotension, and asystole, which could be attributed to intraoperative dural manipulation. As such, there is emerging evidence for a potential neural-mediated spinal-cardiac reflex. The authors report their experience of negative chronotropy during an elective lumbar spine surgery that coincided with dural manipulation and review the available literature. A 34-year-old male presented with a long-standing history of lower back pain recently deteriorating to bilaterally radiating leg pain, with restricted left leg raise, and numbness at the left L5 dermatomal territory. The patient was an athletic police officer with no comorbidities or past medical history. Magnetic resonance imaging lumbosacral spine revealed spinal stenosis most pronounced at L4/L5 and disc bulges at L3/L4 and L5/S1. The patient opted for lumbar decompression surgery. After an unremarkable comprehensive preoperative workup, including cardiac evaluation (electrocardiogram, echocardiogram), the patient was induced general anesthesia in a prone position. A lumbar incision was made from L2 to S1. When the left L4 nerve root was retracted while removing the prolapsed disc at L4/L5, the anesthetist cautioned the surgeon of bradycardia (34 beats per minute [bpm]), and the surgery was immediately stopped. The heart rate improved to 60 bpm within 30 seconds. When the root was later retracted again, a second episode of bradycardia occurred for 4 minutes with heart rate declining to 48 bpm. The surgery was stopped, and after 4 minutes, the anesthetist administered 600 µg of atropine. The heart rate then rose to 73 bpm within 1 minute. Other potential causes for bradycardia were excluded. The total blood loss was estimated to be 100 mL. He remains well at his 6-month follow-up and has returned to work as normal. Akin to previously published cases, each episode of bradycardia coincided with dural manipulation, which may indicate a possible reflex between the spinal dura mater and the cardiovascular system. Such a rare adverse event may occur even in seemingly healthy, young individuals, and anesthetists should caution the operating surgeon of bradycardias to exclude operative manipulation of the dura as the cause. While this phenomenon is only reported in a handful of lumbar spine surgery cases, it provides evidence for a potential spinal-cardiac physiological reflex in the lumbar spine that may be neural mediated and should be investigated further.