The CSRS’

Newsletter
Editors: Claes Olerud
Kathleen Domingo

Cervical Spine Research Society(European Section)
Officers and Committee Chairs
President : Claes Olerud
President Elect : Jose Casamitjana
Past President : Jan Goffin
Secretary : Philippe Bancel
Treasurer : Andre Jackowski
Program committee :Bernard Jeanneret (chairman)
Bengt Lind
Carlos Villas
Ronald Bartels
Research and education committee :Jose Casamitjana (chairman)
Claes Olerud
Vincent Pointillart
Robert Melcher
Carlo Logroscino
By-law Committee:
Andre Jackowski
Philippe Bancel
Claes Olerud
Webmaster : Robert Melcher
Boni Award liaison Officer :Carlo Logroscino
Dieter Grob
Nomination Officer
Dimitrios Korres

How to become a memberof the CSRS-ES ?
Membership Criteria
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

Demonstrated interest in thecervical spine
Advanced degree for non
clinical specialists or Board
Certification for clinicalspecialists
Sponsor and two letters ofrecommendation, all of whichmust be from members of the
CSRS-ES (three letters total)
Attendance of at least one of
the CSRS-ES Annual
Meetings prior toconsideration of yourapplication
Presentation of a paper at
one CSRS-ES Annual
Meeting prior to considerationof your application

Send your Membership Application file
together with your C.V. to:Kathleen Domingo (Administrative secretary)
info@csrs-es.org

Founded 1983

March 2009 Volume 6, Issue 1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Fellow Members,
My term in office is well over the halfway
mark which is why I would like to take thisopportunity to inform you about the present
status of our Society. I was able to attend the
CSRS meeting in Austin, Texas. This meeting
was, as usual, very good with high scientificquality. This time the focus was on basic
science with several presentations on cellularand molecular research on disk degenerationand spinal cord injury. Of course the more
traditional surgical presentations were also
there, however, this time there was not somuch on artificial cervical discs as we haveseen at previous meetings. From the society’s
point of view I wish to mention a few
interesting items: An Asia-Pacific section is
being launched, very similar to our European
section. Their first inauguration meeting willprobably be held during 2009, and the firstscientific meeting will probably be the year
after. We wish our Asia-Pacific friends all theluck with their new society. A proposal fromthe US society was that all three Societies
should arrange a conjoint travelling
fellowship. Two or three promising young
researchers from each of the three societies
should travel together through one of theSocieties “home lands” and visit the importantsites there. No details were discussed, but I
think we should favour this possibility. Moreinformation will come in the future.
In our own part of the world, the latest
meeting was included as a part of Spine
Week last June in Geneva. To be fitted into
the larger context of Spine Week our meeting
was only 1,5 days long, but we managed tohold it together with our own scientific andsocial programs. In the end, I think it cameout quite nicely. From a financial point of view
we still do not know the outcome yet, but
judging from the number of guests andparticipation from the industry it may very well
be as successful as the meeting in Porto four
years ago. The meeting in Leuven turned out
to be successful scientifically, financially andsocially. Those of us who are cyclists willprobably never forget the training session
with Eddy Merckx and his old pro tour team
Another tradition we have started up are
Instructional courses in Barcelona with hands
on cadaver sessions. The first course washeld in March 2008, mainly with local
participants, but with a very enthusiastic
response. The second was held in October,
this time with a more international group ofparticipants, two all the way from USA. A thirdcourse is planned for March 2009. The
invitation will be posted on our web site. I
would like to take this opportunity to express
the society’s sincere gratitude to José
Casamitjana for his great efforts in preparing
for this event.

President Claes Olerud and President Elect José Casamitjana
enjoying a bike trip in Leuven

As many of you may already have noticed wehave a new web site, http://www.csrs-es.org/.
Robert Melcher is the webmaster. All activitiesof the society will be posted there, including
links to future meetings, and submission of
abstracts. We plan to have a “members only”
section behind a firewall where minutes ofmeetings and other internal material can bepresented. More information will follow.
I can also inform you of our new administrative
secretary Mrs. Kathleen Domingo. Mrs
Domingo originates from the US, but has been
living many years in Barcelona, Spain. She wasinvolved in the CSRS meeting in Barcelona in
June 2003. The location is very convenient as
José Casamitjana will become President of oursociety in June 2009, and the instructional
Courses are held there.
The preparations for the meeting in Uppsala
are well on their way and I would like to invite
you all to come. The website is now open forregistration, hotel booking, and submission of
abstracts:
www.csrs-uppsala2009.se.
The
deadline for abstracts was 16 January 2009.
This meeting will be held June 11 through 13,
2009 at the brand new Uppsala Concert andCongress building that was opened last fall. It
will be a traditional meeting with 40 oralpresentations, guest lectures, round tablediscussions, poster session and industrial
exhibits and workshops. The topic for the
meeting is Inflammatory Spine Disease, butother presentations are of course, also
welcome.
I hope to see you all in Uppsala!
Claes Olerud
President

The CSRS’

Newsletter
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT
During the Executive Committee Meetings of 2006, there werevarious discussions of the need to direct CSRS activities
towards education. It is well known by all of us that it is notpossible to obtain fresh cadavers for training and practice of
surgical techniques in many parts of Europe. For this reason,
the idea to create courses that involved more practical training
than theory appealed to us as a new challenge for our society.
At the end of 2007, an opportunity arose to organize inBarcelona a “Hands On Cadaver” instructional course incollaboration with and facilitated by the University of Barcelona.
The purpose of this new educational activity stage of thesociety is to increase our influence in the world of spinal
surgery by assisting the training of young surgeons not only inthe strictly technical and surgical fields but also in pathologic
and therapeutic aspects.
The availability of six cadavers necessitates a limit of 24
participants as more than 4 students per cadaver inhibits thepractical nature of the course. In addition, theoretical classes
are given by expert surgeons, all CSRS members. These
CSRS officials have all participated in the courses voluntarily,
exhibiting great enthusiasm and with no regard to personal
interest or gain.
The collaboration of companies involved in the industry has
been very important in helping young surgeons to become
familiar with the use of instruments and implants currently foundin the market and indispensable for their future knowledge. Oursociety has offered an open invitation to all industries interested
in cooperating with these practical courses. Up to this date wehave worked with DePuy Spine, Metronic, Abbott, Cimer,
Aesculop, Vortrom, Acuña and Font Bona. They have assisted
by providing material, teams of personnel, and in some cases
they have sponsored the participation of surgeons.
Currently, we have organized and held two courses, one in
March 2008 and one in October 2008. The Society´s goal is tooffer two courses annually. In 2009, there is a “Hands On
Cadaver” course scheduled for March and also one in October.
These dates have been arranged according to the needs of theuniversity´s educational activities. We will be able to continue
offering these courses as long as we maintain theindispensable cooperation of the University of Barcelona.

Dr. Casamitjana demonstrating new techniques to last course participantsWith the distribution of evaluation forms to the course
participants, we have been able to receive feedback. Scoresfrom the forms show an average of “notable” to “excellent” inboth courses. We have also taken into consideration thesuggestions given to improve the quality of the courses.
The economic all expense fee of 600 € includes 2 nights in a
hotel, the course dinner, work meals and transport. This fee isintended for beginning young surgeons as an attractive, lowcost opportunity in the first years of their difficult career.
The Executive Committee, presided by Claes Olerud, hasdecided unanimously to maintain the high level of quality
offered in the courses and also has other plans in the sameeducational theme to improve the professional level of spinal
surgeons although this proposal requires a great effort from allof us.
The dates for the next “Hands On Cadaver” course are March
th
th
rd
th
27 and 28 2009 and October 23 and 24 2009 (yet to be
confirmed).
Jose Casamitjana
President Elect

Faculty and participants at the First Hands On Cadaver Course

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The CSRS’

Newsletter
OFFICER MEETING OF THE CERVICAL SPINE RESEARCH SOCIETY (EUROPEAN SECTION) AT THE OCCASION OF THE
23RD ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY, LEUVEN, MAY 30TH 2007
Leuven faculty club, from 12 to 15h
Present: Eva Maria Bucholz, Bernard Jeanneret, Jan Goffin, Chris Ulrich, Jose
Casamitjana, Ronald Bartel, Bengt Lind, Philippe Bancel, Claes Olerud, Dieter Grob,
Vincent Pointillart, and Robert Melcher.
Excused: Dimitios Korres for medical reason, Andre Jackowski, Carlos Villas, Pierre Kher,
Christian Mazel, and Carlo Logroscino.
Call to order
President report: The president thanks all present and comments on the generalorganization of the congress, commenting on the support of the companies: two major
companies have been the principal support of this congress (Medtronic and Depuy: they
are named gold support, others that are well known (Stryker, Eusculap, Howmedica ....)
participated slightly (only 10 companies came for the event compared to 19 at Berlin).
This is due to competition between the different congresses.
Minutes for the last EC meeting in Berlin: The success of the meeting was alreadypresented at Paris.
Matters arising: Nothing to report.
Secretary report: 3 problems are presented:
Past, present and future Presidents of the European and and American Societies;
Claes Olerud, Todd Albert, Jan Goffin, and Tom Zdeblick, biking in Leuvena)A new collaborator, Nathalie Richard, will replace Marjorie Sale as administrative
secretary.

b)

Due to the board extension with new members, and the modification of executive
committees, the executive officers meeting in the middle of the year will be heldwith a limited group: President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairmen of the different
committees and the President elect.

m)c)This board has all the power, but each decision needs to be approved by the wholeboard at each annual congress, and then at the general assembly.

d)Concerning the Executive meeting it has been decided that according to more
involvement of the society it is necessary to increase the number of meetings: threerather than two, this obliges the organization of the instructional course during theautumn, the Paris meeting is maintained, and the congress meeting. Unfortunately
next year Dr Casamitjana cannot organize his meeting in October or December so
the decision is to have the Board Meeting during the Barcelona course at the end of
February and the beginning of March.

It has been decided in Paris to change the operating mode of organizing an annual
congress. The society guarantees the financial situation of each annual meeting but themembers of the program committee become scientific co-organizers with the local host.

Dr Jose Casamitjana is elected President Elect for 2 years, to become President at
the Uppsala meeting in 2009

Treasurer report: Andre Jackowski did not attend the meeting nor the executive meetingboard, so he sent a balance report by mail.

Membership committee report: It has been decided to increase the number of CSRS-ES
members in order to try to be as large as the mother society. Dieter Grob advocatesremaining a small society but active and with a good level. An application form will be
provided through the website.
Accepted as new members:

Secretary report election: Different decisions taken in Paris are confirmed at Leuven:a)R. Assaker from Francea)

Jan Goffin, president, becomes at the end of the general assembly past president
for 2 years (2009)b)

H Pascal-Mousselard from Francec)Assieti from Italyb)

Claes Olerud becomes President for 2 years.

d)Petr Suchomel from Czech Republicc)Dimitrios Korres becomes Nomination Officer for 2 years.

e)Andrés Combalia from Spaind)Philippe Bancel remains as Secretary for 2 years.

f)Zileli Mehmet from Turkeye)It has been decided at Paris that Andre Jackowski remains as Treasurer.

g)Lebib Hamadi as correspondent member from Tunis.

f)

The Program Committee is confirmed with Bernard Jeanneret as Chairman until
2009, Bengt Lind until 2008, Carlos Villas until 2009, and Ronald Bartels until 2009.

g)

The Research and Education Committee: Jose Casamitjana as Chairman until
2009, Vincent Pointillart until 2009, Robert Melcher until 2009, and Carlo
Logroscino until 2009.

h)

The Membership Committee is organized by Philippe Banceli)

The Bylaw Committee consists of the Secretary, the President and the Treasurer.

j)

The Web Master will be Robert Melcher who will organize the website as hedecided at Barcelona. .Eva Maria Bucholz will resign from the executive committee
due to personal reasons.

k)Boni award liaison officer: Dieter Grob has accepted to rejoin the board but heasked for the assistance of Carlo Logroscino who speaks Italian and knows Mrs
Boni, Dr Logroscino accepts to collaborate.

l)

A new Committee is created: Congress Committee which will be in charge oforganizing the annual congress as advisor for the local host. This committee willconsist of the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary.

Future annual meetings:a)Leuven: Everything seems to go well.

b)

Geneva: The congress will be included in spine week with other societies (such as
the ESS, Brazilian Society ...) the CSRS-ES will open the week. The members areinvited to arrive on Sunday May the 25th. The meeting will be grouped all in thesame hotel. The congress will start on Monday morning at 07 .45. This year themain topic remains Occipito-cervical junction.

c)

It is noticed by Dr Jeanneret that until now he has not received any news from thetreasurer about the concerns he asked few weeks ago.

d)Uppsala: The main topic will be cervical inflammatory diseases: rheumatoid arthritis
and ankylosing spondylitis. As previously decided an Instructional Course isorganized every 2 or 3 years: Uppsala will then organize this course at the end or at
the beginning of the annual meeting.

e)

Greece, Korfu: We have some concern about health problem of Dimitrios. We wish
him an speedy recovery. If he has to cancel he asks if Vincent Pointillart´s proposal
for Bordeaux can replace the Korfu meeting.

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The CSRS’

Newslettera)Turkey Istanbul: It is recalled that the local organizer who is not a member of the
Executive Committee will be obliged to take part at the meeting the 2 years before
it´s congress.

b)

Netherlands, Ronald Bartels: the selection of the city is not yet decided due todifferent reasons. The decision will be taken in the near future.

By laws committee report: As already said this committee due to British Laws has to becomposed by the President, the Treasurer and the Secretary.
Program Committee: Due to new organization, the Program Committee is selecting thepapers of the next congress, with blind abstracts, using the website finally sent to theorganizer.
Scientific, Research and Education Committee: It is now the responsibility of the annual
meeting, the local host selects the hotel, the congress room, the social events, and theSREC is responsible together with the local host for the scientific program.
a)

The budget is discussed as already exposed by the Congress committee.

b)

It organizes the Instructional Course.

c)

The visiting fellow (still in project)d)the Multi Centric studye)

The Instructional Course at Barcelona: Dr Casamitjana gave us some report of thelast meeting: about 25 participants attended the meeting (mostly older residents oryoung past residents).The result for this first course is excellent, the evaluation was
between good and excellent.

Report from the web master: Eva Maria Bucholz does not want to continue to be
responsible for the web site. Robert Melcher shows us that his project is already welladvanced, (inspired by the US-CSRS website, however he will stay in touch with Dr
Bucholz to finalize the previous contract initiated by Eva Maria.
Mario Boni Award liaison officer: Carlo Logroascino and Dieter Grob are now the 2 officers
in charge of the Award. 5 communications and 5 posters are selected before the meeting,and then during the meeting the 2 officers and the President select the final best oral
communication and poster offered at the end of the meeting.
Miscellaneous:a)Patronizing of external courses and symposiums: as in the past, proposal from othersocieties are coming to the Executive Committee, we reaffirm our decision not tocollaborate, if individually officers want to participate it is their own responsibilityb)

In order to make our society well known it has been decided:i)

A contact is recommended with an European Journal (As European Spine
Journal) Dr Gunsberg will then been approachedii)

Through the website: all information must be included ( congress, instructionalcourse, fellowship, research...)iii)

During the annual meeting information has to be provided about the future
eventsWe are sad to be informed that after 21 years of representation of the mother society at
our Executive Meetings and at our society, Chris Ulrich wishes to end this presence and to
be represented by the other members of the CSRS-US. We thank him deeply for his
contributions and help during this long period and hope to see him frequently.

The faculty dinner in Leuven when Claes Olerud had just taken over as President

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The CSRS’

Newsletter
MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE CERVICAL SPINE RESEARCH SOCIETY (EUROPEAN SECTION)BARCELONA, MARCH 13, 2008-

Venue: Hotel Guitart Grand Passage- Muntaner nº212, Barcelona (Phone: +(34) 93
201 03 06 )-Timetable: 4:00 - 7.30 pm-

Present: Jose Casamitjana, Ronald Bartels, Bengt Lind, Philippe Bancel, Andre
Jackowski, Claes Olerud and Robert Melcher.
Excused: Dimitios Korres, Carlos Villas, Dieter Grob, Vincent Pointillart, Eva Maria
Bucholz, Bernard Jeanneret, Jan Goffin.
Call to order
Minutes of the last EC meeting are approved.
Matters arising
Proposal of Dieter Grob for the organization of future meetings SSLS is planning to set
up a private congress organizing body which could be used for the preparation of ourmeetings. Dieter Grob asked Claes Olerud if the CSRS-es would be interested in thisoffer. As the Board exposed different opinions, it is decided not to take any step yet
and to wait and see how this idea is evolving.
Implementation of smooth payment/reimbursement process by the Treasurer. Andre
Jackowski explains that any payment requires to be documented. He adds that hedoes not need to have the originals (officers can send pf files, for ex.). The decision ismade to improve communication and share responsibility between the President, theSecretary and the Treasurer.
Proposal of Carlos Villas concerning abstracts selection. Carlos Villas suggested in a
recent e-mail message to have one main topic changing every year. Board members
have reservations: good abstracts are rare; submitting an abstract within the chosen
subject does not say anything about its quality; there is also the problem of themulticentric randomised studies supported by companies versus an individual author.
The process would be as follows: the Board suggests a topic. There are 2 different
selection processes: one for the abstracts submitted within the main topic and one forthe other abstracts. The distribution should be: 25 to 30% for the main topic and therest for “open” submissions. The latter can be divided between sub-topics. In the next
step, we have the ranking of the abstracts and the meeting of the scoring committeewith unblinded abstracts.
President report
The American CSRS would like to have the Board members of the European section
attend their Board meeting. Only the President is invited. The Treasurer and theSecretary can afford to go only once a year. An e-mail will be sent asking if the latterare also invited.
Secretary report
Replacement of Marjorie Salé/.
Nathalie Richard has taken over: contract, payment for services, future.
Annual meetings: frequency, location, cancellation of the meeting in Paris. All Board
members agree on meeting more frequently. Jose Casamitjana agrees to organize two
instructional courses: two Board meetings will be held in Barcelona (one in March andthe other one in October), another Board meeting in June on the occasion of theannual meeting and a 4th one, ideally in January.
Is a Senior Course planned in Barcelona in autumn?. Please refer to the above
section. A date will be set shortly.

Membership Committee report
Nomination of new members: The applications of Professor Andrés Combalia andJesus Lafuente are both accepted. Mr. Lofgren had applied when Marjorie Salé wasstill working for the CSRS but he never knew if his application had been approved.
Senior membership will be offered to Pierre Kehr.
Future annual meetings
Report on Leuven by Jan Goffin (financial report, attendance…)
In the absence of Jan Goffin: nothing to report.
-

2008: Geneva, Switzerland, Bernard Jeanneret (SpineWeek)
2009: Uppsala, Sweden, Claes Olerud. The topic is confirmed:”Inflammatory spine diseases. President says that everything is undercontrol for the Uppsala congress.
2010: Greece, Korfu, 2nd week in June, Dimitrios Korres. Dimitrios Korres
is not present. Nothing to report.
2011: Turkey, Istanbul, Sait Naderi. We would like him to attend the Board
meeting in Geneva.
2012: Netherlands, Ronald Bartels. Ronald Bartels points out that themeeting in the Netherlands will be held at the same time as SpineWeek.
Trustees and By-laws Committee report
The Trustees are responsible for reporting to the Charity commission: nothing toreport. We are expanding our educational efforts which the commission will appreciate.
Scientific, Research, Education, and Program Committee report
Payment process for registration and general organisation of the Instructional Course.
There is a need to improve the process with advance information and announcementon the website. At the time of the writing of these minutes, we can report that the
instructional course has been a great success. For the next edition (in Autumn),
lecturers must know at least one month in advance about their topic and the timeallowed for their presentation.
Report from the Web Master
Robert Melcher is currently implementing a restricted area on the website aimed atsharing information among Board members (replacing e-mail correspondence).
Overall, the web master is satisfied with the evolution of the website.
Report form Mario Boni Award Liaison Officer
Problem of late payment. There has been a delay because the Treasurer did notreceive the money from the Boni Foundation. Communication has been difficult since
Pierre Kehr, the Liaison Officer resigned.
Miscellaneous: none.
Adjournment

Treasurer report
A. Jackowski presents the income and expenditure of the Barcelona course in 2007.
He adds that all the delegates got sponsorships. In regard to memberships, theaccount is not finalized due to pending fees. The Treasurer asks the administrative
secretary to update the e-mail addresses of the members. The annual accounts arebalanced and we have a small credit balance.
Financial guarantee insurance for congresses, accounts of the next congress. To avoid
problems, the Secretary suggests to create a committee supervising and discussing
the expenses for future congresses. This committee should be composed of the
President, the Treasurer, the Secretary and the local host.
Nomination Officer report
Pierre Kehr and Christian Mazel resigned. What about Eva-Maria Bucholz and Bengt
Lind? Eva-Maria Bucholz is not present and therefore nobody can tell what decision
she has made about resigning. Bengt Lind says he would like to stay for two more
years in the Program Committee (which is approved by the Board). The decision wasmade in Paris (January 2007) and confirmed in Leuven (May 2007) to change theBoard organization chart. As a consequence, the committees have also been changed
and it has been decided that the terms should start from January 2007 for a two-year
period. We must encourage stability in the society and avoid any Board member's
resignation in 2009.

Faculty at the course, from left to right: Ronald Bartels, Bengt Lind, Andre Jackowski,
Jose Casamitjana, Carlo Logroscrino, Andre Combalía, Robert Melcher, Philippe
Bancel, Claes Olerud.

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The CSRS’

Newsletter
MINUTES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING OF THE CERVICAL SPINE RESEARCH SOCIETY (EUROPEAN SECTION)GENEVA, MAY 26, 2008-

Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel - Geneva
Timetable: 12:00 - 1.00 pm
Secretary report (by Andre Jackowski).
Barcelona instructional course. There are now two instructional courses given inBarcelona: one in March and the other on October 24th and 25th. The course is working
very well.
Change in the terms of the officers. Regarding the issue of the replacement of all theofficers next year, we have planned to extend the terms and to allow the possibility ofextending or shortening the terms to ensure a smooth running of the society. We alsoneed new blood so if anyone feels that he/she has a quality to bring to the society, he/sheshould let him/herself be known to Nathalie Richard, the administrative secretary.
Wilco Peul would be interested in becoming an officer.
Treasurer report Barcelona instructional course. The course was cost neutral in Marchand last year. It earns what it costs to run.
President reporta) Nomination and membership: Pierre Kehr has gladly accepted to become a senior
member. We have two new members: Ludek Vavruch and Hakan Lofgrenb) Future annual meetings:
Geneva, Switzerland, Bernard Jeanneret (SpineWeek): so far, the meeting isvery good.
Uppsala, Sweden, Claes Olerud. June 10-13th 2009. It is a very nice time of
the year to be there. The location is close to the airport, which makes it
unnecessary to fly to Stockholm.
Greece, Korfu, June 3-5th or 10-12th 2010, Dimitrios Korres. The meeting
will be held in North of Greece. Korfu has an international airport connecting
to all destinations worldwide. D. Korres has to make sure that no othercongress is taking place at the same time.
Turkey, Istanbul, Sait Naderi – 2011. Sait Naderi has to come back with fixed
dates.
The Netherlands, Ronald Bartels – 2012
Nothing to report. At the same time as SpineWeek. R. Bartels is involved in
the SpineWeek committee.
Vincent Pointillart will be the local host in Bordeaux in 2013; Robert Melcher
has volunteered for a meeting in 2014 in Germany, most likely in Heidelberg.
This city has a university with nice facilities.
On these future possible meeting locations, we would be able to make a decision with asurvey to the membership. Andre Jackowski will send an e-mail to all members about thefinancial situation.
Ronald Bartels says that we have to make a decision by the end of June regarding themeeting in Amsterdam. The main issue is to avoid, as a small society, the impact of ourmeeting to being diluted by a big event. According to Philippe Bancel, we can only benefit
from being part of SpineWeek.
Trustee and by-laws Committee report
The society is a company limited by guarantee. We incorporated as a company
registered in London on February 23rd, 2005. We became a charity on March 14th,
2006. The objects of our society are the relief of patients suffering from cervical spine
conditions, spontaneously arising disease, mouth malformation and conditions affecting
human cervical spine. Our aims are the advancement of education and training as wellas the promotion of medical research. There are three trustees for the charity, as
opposed to the company: Jan Goffin, Philippe Bancel and Andre Jackowski. They haveto review risks associated with expansion and try to mitigate these risks. We cangenuinely say we are a charity since we now offer cadaver courses.
The membership of the society is increasing. We agreed during the EC meeting
yesterday to reappoint the auditors “Languard Lifford Hall”. This decision is approved by
the GA.
Scientific and Research Committee
Hands-on Cadaver Course in Barcelona.
We now have two dates annually for the cadaver course. As a charity, we have to spendmoney for educational purposes. The next date will be October 24th and 25th.
The feed-back forms following the last course in March ranged between good andexcellent.
We are already working on the dates of the course in March 2009.
If the membership knows young surgeons who would be interested, feel free to spreadthe information. We could also make an announcement through the societies, in additionof the website. The course will be announced with a slide at the end of the session of
SpineWeek tomorrow.

Bengt Lind suggests to make flyers to be distributed all over Europe. Wilco Peul saysthat we could send these A4-page announcements to the secretary of the EANS who
can cascade to all surgical societies. Philippe Bancel would like to make sure to havefeedback on the actions taken and their actual effect.
Program Committee report
Bernard Jeanneret described the process of the evaluation of the abstracts forSpineWeek in Geneva: 4 people reviewed the papers. There were 20 to 30% of specifictopics and a double ranking system with abstracts within the general topic.
The president says he discussed in the meeting with the mother society the subject ofthe disclosure of conflict of interest. It is not mandatory yet in Europe but we willprobably have to take this turn. We could store the forms in a database available during
coffee breaks. They would be sent to the participants, the moderators and the programcommittee. The committee should also have a system to opt out from a discussion if amember has a conflict of interest on a particular subject.
Report from the Web Master
For SpineWeek, there was a link directly to the SpineWeek website, so it was a bit
different from the usual annual meetings. If members should have any comments orsuggestions to improve our website, kindly let Robert Melcher know.
Mario Boni Award Liaison Officer
Dieter Grob proposed to make rules for the selection of the award recipients. The 5 best
papers are selected by the program committee. They are nominated and notified. Thenthe president and the local host look at this pre-selection. We should ask for moredetails in the second stage and be able to select also a good presentation. Because
sometimes the paper is good but the presentation turns out to be poor. The otheradvantage of an advanced notification of the potential winners is that we will have achance to tell them about our new rule: the grant goes to an institution and not to anindividual anymore. All the authors should receive a diploma.
Adjournment

KAZUHIRO HASEGAWA, MARIO BONI AWARD 2008
Kazuhiro Hasegawa and his co-authors Takao Homma, Haruka Shimoda, and Ko
Tokano were the recipients of the 2008 Mario Boni Award for their abstract " C5 Palsy
as a Partial Symptom of a Transient Spinal Cord Lesion". Dr. Hasegawa comments:
Postoperative upper extremity palsy, so-called C5 palsy, is one of critical complications
after cervical decompression surgery. The etiology is yet to be clarified. Most ofprevious papers on this subject demonstrated preconceived ideas that an etiology ofthe lesion is due to the nerve root impediment through studies with single procedure,
mostly laminoplasty, and with limited numbers of patients. In CSRS-E 2008 (SPINEWEEK in Genève), we presented the first paper with a large patient population withcervical compressive myelopathy including anterior and posterior procedures, andconcluded that an etiology of the palsy could attribute to a transient spinal cord lesion
rather than nerve root lesion. We strongly recommend that physicians should informpatients the potential risk of a spinal cord deficit following cervical decompression
surgery. The authors appreciate a fair evaluation on our paper by the ScientificCommittees, giving us “Mario Boni Award”.

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MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE CERVICAL SPINE RESEARCH SOCIETY (EUROPEANSECTION), GENEVA, MAY 25, 2008-

Venue: Restaurant du “Parc des Eaux Vives" – Geneva-

Timetable: 4:00 - 6.00 pm
Call to order
Present: Jose Casamitjana, Ronald Bartels, Bengt Lind, Philippe Bancel, Andre
Jackowski, Claes Olerud, Robert Melcher, Dimitios Korres, Carlos Villas, Dieter Grob,
Vincent Pointillart, Eva Maria Bucholz, Bernard Jeanneret, Jan Goffin, Carlo Logroscino
and Sait Naderi.
The minutes of the last EC meeting are approved.
Matters arising
Dieter Grob explained his proposal for the organization of future meetings. We could
create our own congress organizing company. The advantage is that if the company
makes a profit, the dividends will be distributed to the shareholders. At the same time,
we would have an individual account for each meeting.
We are not in a position to make a decision on this now but we are interested in hearing
more about how things progress.
President report
Claes Olerud confirms the need for a Business Class fare to go to the Board meetingsof the mother society in the US. This allows to foster close collaboration between oursocieties and provides an opportunity to meet up with our American colleagues.
Secretary report
Report on Barcelona and organization of the next instructional course.
We have raised the issue of the financial responsibility of the local host. In the future,
we have decided that since the society is getting bigger and that the risk will get bigger
as well, we will have a committee (president, secretary and treasurer) having a closer
look on the financial costs. The local host will also have to let the committee look overproposed contracts before signing them. It is necessary for this committee to have atleast a monthly conference call.
Renewal of Bengt Lind’s term; the issue of short terms; update on the changes until
2009; board eligibility for a non-member.
Regarding the issue of the replacement of all the officers next year, we have planned toextend the terms and to allow the possibility of extending or shortening the terms toensure a smooth running of the society. This decision is approved.
Treasurer report
The accounts are approved.
We decide to reappoint the auditors, “Languard Lifford Hall”, as they do a very good job.
Nomination Officer report
Pierre Kehr has gladly accepted our offer for Senior membership.
Membership Committee report
Applications submitted by Ludek Vavruch and Hakan Lofgren.
They both have the right profile. We accept their membership. The decision will beannounced during the GA meeting.
Future annual meetings
The president proposes to reimburse economy air fare and accommodation for invited
speakers. The treasurer says that it is not easy to give an absolute prescriptive answer
on this subject. In general, the principle is that as a charity we cannot pay for spouses.
Generally, we pay an economy fare but under these conditions, some lecturers would
never accept to come; in which case, we would have to discuss how much we want thislecturer to come. The treasurer and the secretary will have a say and a right of veto in
the amounts spent.
a)

b)
c)
d)

Report on Leuven by Jan Goffin (financial report, attendance…). Half the surplus
obtained after the meeting has been transferred to the CSRS society. The
scientific program displayed very good quality. There were a little less than 300
participants.
2008: Geneva, Switzerland, Bernard Jeanneret (SpineWeek). Nothing to reportyet. Philippe Bancel underlines that a wide range of much debated topics will
always be favored by the audience
2009: Uppsala, Sweden, Claes Olerud. Financial and contractual issues are now
resolved.
2010: Greece, Korfu, 2nd week in June, Dimitrios Korres. D. Korres will send a
PDF file about the meeting. The scientific topic is not decided yet. It could betumors or complications.

e)

f)
g)

2011: Turkey, Istanbul, Sait Naderi. Sait Naderi made a presentation. The venue
must be chosen based on provisional budget. The location of the exhibition should
not be far from the meeting. The organising company approached by Sait Naderi
has been doing a great amount of work. According to their budgetary breakdown,
the Marmara hotel seems the best value.
2012: Netherlands, Ronald Bartels. Nothing to report. At the same time as
SpineWeek.
We have to think about the venue of the next meetings after Amsterdam. Vincent
Pointillart offers to be the local host in Bordeaux in 2013; Robert Melcher volunteers
for Heidelberg in 2014.

Trustee and by-laws Committee report.
The society is a company limited by guarantee. We incorporated as a company registeredin London on February 23rd, 2005. We became a charity on March 14th, 2006. The objectsof our society are the relief of patients suffering from cervical spine conditions,spontaneously arising disease, mouth malformation and conditions affecting humancervical spine. Our aims are the advancement of education and training as well as thepromotion of medical research. There are three trustees for the charity, as opposed to thecompany: Jan Goffin, Philippe Bancel and Andre Jackowski. They have to review risks
associated with expansion and try to mitigate these risks. We can genuinely say we are acharity since we now offer cadaver courses. The membership of the society is increasing.
Scientific, Research, Education Committee
Evaluation of the Hands-on Cadaver Course in March.
The next course is scheduled on October 24th and 25th with a similar program and the EC
meeting on the day before. In March, two different companies were supplying tools but oneof them was not willing to collaborate with another company. With now two courses
annually, we could have one company at a time. It is also important to encourage thecontribution of the companies to our educational activities (grants and fellowship, forexample).
The feed-back from delegates was very good. However, they thought we did not haveenough tools. They also expected to get more practical notions, i.e. “surgical tricks”. Theiraim is to learn a methodology. Philippe Bancel will make sure that his next presentation will
be more surgically-oriented, tackling purely technical issues. They appreciated the altruismof the instructors, even if it is not always easy for all of them to be present twice a year inBarcelona. Robert Melcher, Dimitrios Korres, Carlos Villas, Andre Jackowski, Philippe
Bancel and Claes Olerud agree to come in October.
The course will be announced with a slide at the end of the session of SpineWeek
tomorrow.
Program Committee report
In our last EC meeting, we accepted the proposal of Carlos Villas for a double ranking (cf.
minutes of Barcelona March 2008; 3.3) with one main topic and “open” submissions. The
ranking will be with blind and unblinded abstracts at the final stage to avoid the same
institution to have more than 2 papers selected
The president says that disclosure of conflict of interest should be acknowledged byreviewers when making the decision on abstracts.
Report from the Web Master
Nothing to report.

The officers meeting in Geneva

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Report from the Web Master
Nothing to report.
Mario Boni Award Liaison Officer.
The treasurer received the money for the Mario Boni award and thecertificate.
The 5 best papers are selected by the programme committee. They
are nominated and notified. Then the president and the local host
look at this pre-selection. We should ask for more details in thesecond stage and be able to select also a good presentation.
Because sometimes the paper is good but the presentation turns out
to be poor. The other advantage of a notification of the potential
winners is that we will have a chance to tell them about our new
rule: the grant goes to an institution and not to an individual
anymore. All the authors should receive a diploma.
Quotation from EC meeting, January 2006, Paris: “According toClaes Olerud’s idea, there will be a vote committee of 3 persons. 8
posters and 5 communications will be nominated out of theabstracts. The authors of these abstracts will be informed about
their nomination for the awards competition”.
Miscellaneous.
Concerning the Mario Boni Award, we must write down clear
guidelines for the short-listing process. All members of the selection
committee must be present and the selection must be made aheadof time.
Similarly, each committee must follow guidelines and report to the(restricted) Board. For example, we must have guidelines forregistrations and abstracts submissions with a fixed deadline, with acopy to the administrative secretary, including for the Mario BoniAward.
Adjournment

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MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CERVICAL SPINE RESEARCH SOCIETY (EUROPEAN SECTION),BARCELONA. OCTOBER 24TH, 2008-

Location: Bellvitge Hospital Laboratory
Timetable: 17:30 to 19:00
Present at the meeting: Claes Olerud, Jose Casamitjana, Philippe Bancel, Andre
Jackowski, Robert Melcher, Ronald Bartels, Carlos Villas, Demetrios Korres, Bengt Lind
The call to order was given around 17.30 by the secretary, Philippe Bancel, as theminutes of the last meeting were approved.
President ReportClaes Olerud briefly stated that there was nothing new to be added to
the President´s report.
Secretary Report
Jose Casamitjana stated that the next course will be March 27th and 28th also at
Bellvitge Hospital in Barcelona. The Executive Committee meeting will be held at thecourse..
The decision was made to continue giving the course twice a year in Barcelona.
The option of a lecture only course was discussed although cadaver work was agreed tobe essential. Jose Casamitjana proposed the idea of a forum for case discussion during
a half day before the annual meeting which would be open to all attendees. The idea waswell received. This proposition led to the discussion of the schedule of the annual
meeting in Uppsala:Wednesday, June 10th - Afternoon officer´s meeting and evening dinner.
Thursday, June 11th - Business from 08:30 to 1700 and evening meeting.
Friday, June 12th - Business from 08:30 to 17.00 and evening banquet.
Saturday, June 13th - Meeting ends at midday.
The decision was taken to consider the feedback from the evaluation forms and bysimply asking for a show of hands after the course to determine the addition of morecase discussions in the future.
It was suggested to advertise more in medical journals such as European Spine Journal
and to also send more emails to medical societies in order to increase attendance andreach out to more countries. Another suggestion was to encourage senior residents at
the CSRS annual meeting to send their residents to the course. Claes Olerud said thatadvertising for the Uppsala meeting and the March course will be done through emails to
the Spine Week attendees.
Nathalie Richard will be stepping down as the administrative secretary. Kathleen
Domingo was introduced as a possible candidate.
No proposal has been received yet from Dieter Grob about the organization of future
meetings.
Claes Olerud explained how the Mario Boni Award would be handled at the Uppsalaannual meeting. Before lunch on Thursday there will be a Mario Boni Award Scientificsession. During that session, 5 or 6 top rank nominees for the award will be presented tothe jury. A decision will be made after that session to later be presented at the banquet.
Also presented and discussed in the presence of the jury will be the nominees for the
Mario Boni Video/Poster award which will also be celebrated at the banquet on Friday.
Nominees will be notified of said nominations after the abstracts are scored.

Web Master Report
Robert Melcher said that there could be possible conflicts with the firewalls used byvarious institutions that might hinder the process of submitting abstracts and receiving apassword. Any problems should be directed to the Web Master by email. Members
signing in on the web will be sent a password in order to avoid anyone outside the
CSRS from entering the member´s section of the website.
Treasurer Report
Andre Jackowski said that the accounts are in order.
Nomination Report
Demetrios Korres had nothing to report.
Membership Report
There have not been any recent applicants for membership.
Future Annual Meetings
Claes Olerud added that the Uppsala meeting is running on schedule. There are an
estimated 300 participants and 20 companies attending.
The topic for the annual meeting in Corfu, Greece, May 26th through 29th, 2010 will betumors of the cervical spine.
There has been some email communication about hotel possibilities for the meeting in
Istanbul, Turkey in 2011.
Ronald Bartels communicated that Spine Week will be hosted in the Netherlands in2012 but there is no topic yet.
Carlos Villas has offered to host the 2015 annual meeting in Pamplona.
Trustees Report
Andre Jackowski stated that the accounts have been filed with the charity commission
and are in order.
Scientific Research and Education Committee Report
Claes Olerud would like for the officers to provide information about their activities during
the year.
Miscellaneous
Claes Olerud suggested that in March when the new officers are nominated, the lengthof term should be revised. It was suggested that not all officers be renewed at the sametime in order to provide continuity. Andre Jackowski suggested a discussion on thepossibility of allowing an officer to continue his term until he wishes to step down. It wasalso suggested that those who hold offices with a higher workload should be offered theopportunity to step down.

Jose Casamitjana welcoming attendees and faculty to the October Hands On
Cadaver Course in Barcelona

Adjournment

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