UPH Faculty of Medicine, Host of the 11th International Conference on Cerebrovascular (Stroke) Surgery Specialists

Universitas Pelita Harapan?s Faculty of Medicine (UPH FK) was trusted to be the host of the 11th International Conference on Cerebrovascular Surgery (ICCVS) which was held for four days, December 11 to 14, 2014.  The conference was attended by Endro Basuki as Chairman of the Indonesia Neurosurgery Association, Lype Cherian as Counselor General of the Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeon, Vladimir Benes as President of the European Congress of Neurogical Surgeon, and hundreds of other neurosurgeons.

The conference was chaired by Prof. Eka Julianta Wohjoepramono, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine UPH, and was attended by 262 participants from 26 countries. Some participants from universities in Indonesia were also included, such as from Padjadjaran University Faculty of Medicine, University of North Sumatra and Andalas University.

According to the results of an international research, as presented by Prof. Eka, stroke is a disease currently taking the second place for the cause of death in the whole world and is a major cause of disability. Therefore, in this conference, how to reduce mortality and disability from stroke became the main discussion. In this conference, the various controversies regarding the treatments of stroke were also discussed. This is related to the developments in medical science.   (left) Prof. Eka, President of ICCVS 2014

?In the treatment of diseases, we suggest to follow the international standards, which have already passed through the process of testing and research. So it must be evidence-based. This can be then used as a procedure,” explained dr. Harsan, Chairman of the 2014 ICCVS Committee.                                                                                  (right) dr. Harsan, Ketua Panitia ICCVS 2014

Some of the controversies discussed were treating stoke with hemorrhage, whether the skull needs to be opened when surgery or simply through blood vessels only (endovascular). Then, whether it should be bypassed or not, and various other treatments.

The modern day developments in neurosurgery were also discussed in this meeting, namely the innovation of scalpel-less brain tumor surgery which was developed by Gamma Knife Indonesia, which is one of the leading neurosurgical team in Siloam Hospital. Related with the Gamma Knife technology, Dr. Fernando G. Diaz, Neurosurgery expert from Detroit, USA, one of the speakers at the conference, said that the Gamma Knife technology in Siloam Hospitals is a method of a scalpel-less surgical treatment for brain tumors which is relatively inexpensive and has been tested scientifically. Compared to Malaysia, the cost of treatment with Gamma Knife in Indonesia is much cheaper, approximately around $ 12,000, while in Malaysia this surgery costs around $ 16,000. According to Prof. Eka, this method has also proven its success. “But I suggest for the public to do an early stroke symptoms check-up. This will greatly help the treatments, because if the problems in the brain?s blood vessels are already at the severe level, this brain-borne disease will have a smaller treatment success rate,” urged Prof. Eka.

Prof. Eka asserted that he expected this conference to produce information related to the controversies surrounding stroke treatment, so that it can be used as a recommendation to the government and society in Indonesia and internationally regarding appropriate actions in dealing with stroke. (rh)