Minutes of the 2nd International Symposium and 8th Annual Conference of Indian Society of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care (ISNACC 2007). New Delhi, India. February 9–11, 2007.
The 2nd International Symposium and 8th Annual Conference of Indian Society of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care (ISNACC 2007) was held on February 9–11, 2007, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. It was organized by the Department of Neuroanaesthesiology of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Hari H. Dash, M.D. (Professor, Neuroanaesthesiology AIIMS), and the organizing secretary, Parmod K. Bithal, M.D. (Professor, Neuroanaesthesiology AIIMS). The conference was attended by a galaxy of renowned international and national faculties. There were 16 foreign faculties (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, and Switzerland), who, along with their Indian counterparts, delivered a treat of scientific deliberations to nearly 250 delegates from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Bangladesh.
On the first day, the continuing medical education program began after a brief formal inauguration by the president of ISNACC, Mary Abraham, M.D. (Senior Consultant, Fortis Hospital, Noida, India). This was followed by a historical lecture on neuroanesthesia by Takefumi Sakabe, M.D. (Professor, Yamaguchi, Japan). Adrian Gelb, M.B. Ch.B., D.A., F.R.C.P.C. (Professor, University of California, San Francisco, California), taught about the depth of anesthesia monitoring, and Piyush Patel, M.D. (Professor, San Diego, California), discussed the choice of anesthetic agents in neuroanesthesia practice. The hallmark of the morning session was Prof. Malathi Devi's oration on “Recent Advances in Brain Protection” delivered by James E. Cottrell, M.D. (Professor, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York), which was a treat to the audience. There was a lecture on “Awake Craniotomy” by Pirjo Manninen, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, The Toronto Hospital, Ontario, Canada), and the “Effects of Anesthesia on the Developing Brain and Pediatric Patients” were discussed by Sulpicio Soriano, M.D. (Professor, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts), and P. Farling, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, United Kingdom). After a sumptuous lunch, there were lectures on “Endovascular Surgery” by Prof. Gelb and “Anesthesia for Cerebral Aneurysms” by Prof. Cottrell. The possible role of magnesium in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage was discussed by M. Chan, M.B.B.S., F.H.K.A.M. (Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong). Three workshops on trigeminal neuralgia, transesophageal echocardiography, and unstable cervical spine were conducted by A. Goswami, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, Park Neuroscience Centre, Kolkata, India), Dr. Balachandhur, M.D. (Assistant Professor, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts), and D. Padmaja, M.D. (Associate Professor, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, India), respectively, for all the delegates. Soon after the workshop, a poster session was also arranged in which the resident doctors and delegates participated with great enthusiasm. While all attempts were made to stimulate the brain cells of participants, an effort was also made to relax their senses through a cultural program that followed the inaugural function on the evening of first day. The inauguration started with inviting on stage S. S. Saini, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, New Delhi, India), as Chief Guest, Dr. Mary Abraham (President ISNACC), Prof. H. H. Dash (Chairman ISNACC 2007), Prof. Parmod K. Bithal (Organizing Secretary ISNACC 2007), and Dr. G. Parameswara, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, India; Secretary ISNACC). After words of wisdom and experience from the dignitaries, the Continuing Medical Education Book was released by the Chief Guest. The Chief Guest, Prof. S. S. Saini, honored the founder president of ISNACC, Prof. Hari H. Dash; all the past presidents, K. J. Choudhury, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India), Kanchan Jagger, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, Bombay Hospital, Mumbai, India), and Bibhukalyani Das, M.D. (Professor, Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata, India); the current president, Dr. Mary Abraham; and the past and current secretaries of the society, Prof. Parmod K. Bithal and Dr. G. Parameswara. This was followed by an Oddisi dance recital by a young budding artist, Miss Shreya Mohanti, who captivated the audience. This was followed by dinner at the conference venue.
As the weather in Delhi changed its mood and brought light showers and a cold wave, new registrations were hampered. Despite the rain, the attendance of the delegates on the second day remained good. The second day's session began with lectures on the “Importance of Jugular Venous Oximetry Monitoring in Neuroanesthesia” by Y. Shapira, M.D., Ph.D. (Professor, Ben-Gurion University Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel), followed by “Use of Functional MRI in Anesthesia” by R. Ramani, M.D. (Assistant Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut). But the lecture on closed claims analysis by Karen Domino, M.D. (Professor, Seattle, Washington), was highly thought provoking and generated a lot of discussions from the floor. This was followed by two orations, namely, Prof. G. R. Gode and Prof. Hariwir Singh's orations, delivered by P. Ravussin, M.D. (Professor, Sion Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland), and Prof. Hari H. Dash, on “Metabolic Monitoring of Brain” and “Progress of Neuroanaesthesiology: An Indian Perspective,” respectively. The prelunch session had a lecture on “Anesthesia for Spine Injury” by Kristin Engelhard, M.D. (Associate Professor, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany), and a lecture on “Postoperative Neurologic Complications” by S. Kathirvel, M.D. (Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). In the postlunch session, two workshops were conducted on intracranial pressure monitoring and transcranial Doppler by Umamaheswara Rao, M.D. (Professor, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India), and Dr. Kristin Engelhard, respectively. There was also a debate session where the speakers, D. Kulkarni, M.D. (Professor, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences), and K. Sandhu, M.D. (Army Research and Referral Institute, New Delhi, India), put forward their views on the invasive versus noninvasive monitoring in neuroanaesthesia practice. As on the first day, a poster session was again organized. Some of the posters were highly appreciated by the visiting foreign luminaries. The General Body Meeting was held in the evening and was also attended by the delegates with great interest. Various suggestions came from the members to improve and expand the activities of the society in India. Some new members were inducted as members of the governing body. The hectic program on the second day ended with an exotic banquet at the Adar Satkar lawns in Pragati Maidan. Initially, the spirit had dampened because of the shower, but from 8:00 to 10:30 pm, the sky remained clear, during which time everyone enjoyed the mehmaan nawazi of Delhi.
On the final day of the conference, various topics of clinical interest, such as neurotrauma, neuro–critical care patients, neuroendoscopy, and postoperative pain management, were discussed by Christian Werner, M.D. (Professor, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany), Dr. P. Manninen, Dr. T. V. S. P. Murthy, M.D. (Army Research and Referral Institute, New Delhi), R. C. Rathod, M.D. (Professor, SriChitra Institute of Medical Education and Research, Trivandrum, India), Jyotsna Wig, M.D. (Professor, Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh, India), V. K. Grover, M.D. (Professor, Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh), Dr. Bibhukalyani Das, and J. Monteiro, M.D. (Consultant Anesthetist, Bombay Hospital). Along with the final poster session, a debate on regional versus general anesthesia for carotid endarterectomy was conducted. One of the major highlights of this conference was a panel discussion on “Changing Medical Futility to Medical Utility” conducted by Rajiv Chawla, M.D. (Professor, G. B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, India). It was moderated by A. Bhattacharya, M.D. (Professor, GTB Hospital, New Delhi, India), with distinguished panelists Prof. S. C. Raina (Faculty of Law, Delhi University), Aarti Vij, M.H.A. (Associate Professor, Hospital Administration, AIIMS), Ritu Arora, M.D. (Incharge Eye Bank at Gurunanak Hospital, Delhi), and Prof. G. S. Umamaheswara Rao. Various issues pertaining to euthanasia, organ donation, and brain death were discussed. An opportunity was provided for budding neuroanesthesiologists to share their views and ideas.
In the final moments of this scientific journey, prizes were distributed to the winners of the poster session during the valedictory function. Dr. Virendra Jain, senior resident at AIIMS, bagged the first prize in the poster competition. The second and third prizes were handed over to G. B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, and Nizam's Institute, Hyderabad. Dr. Mary Abraham invited Dr. Umamaheswara Rao to take over as president for the next session. Prof. Bithal thanked the delegates for their active participation during the conference. The conference ended with cheers and applause for the hosts.
*All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. prabhakarhemanshu@rediffmail.com
