U dane 23. i 24. oktobra 2014. godine u organizaciji Klinike za neurohirurgiju UKC Tuzla svečano je obilježena 30. godišnjica neurohirurške službe. Svečanosti su prisustovali kako neurohirurzi iz inostranstva tako i ljekari iz BiH, uz prisustvo kolega drugih specijalnosti. U sklopu manifestacije obilježavanja godišnjice održana su i 2 međunarodna naučna skupa, endovaskularni kurs i neuroonkološki simpozij.

Prigodnim predavanjem na “koktelu dobrodošlice” prisutnima se između ostalih obratio Prof. dr Mirsad Hodžić, Načelnik Klinike za neurohirurgiju UKC Tuzla, koji se osvrnuo na historijat Klinike i sadašnje stanje. Potom je Prof. dr. Robert J. PLUNKETT iz USA, dirljivom prezentacijom prikazao svoje viđenje razvoja neurohirurgije u Tuzli u posljednjih 15 godina, obzirom da je svo vrijeme bio sudionik i svjedok značajnog napretka ove renomirane BH neurohirurške kuće.

Udruženje neurohirurga u BiH čestita kolegama u Tuzli ovaj značajan jubilej.

In English: Department of Neurosurgery University Clinical Center Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Association of Neurosurgeons in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Following lines represent a short report from Prof.dr Mirsad Hodžić, President of the
Organising Committee, from the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Department of
Neurosurgery, University Clinical Center Tuzla that took place on October 23-24, 2014 in
Tuzla. The 30th Anniversary was organized with a two-full day scientific program and more
international speakers from the USA, Germany, France, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey and Bosnia
and Herzegovina. They informed us about the current standard of practice in neurosurgery.

Important notices:
1. Nowadays, we are witnessing remarkable progress in the field of medicine, in general, and
neurosurgery, in particular. Sometimes it is challenging, if not difficult, for us here in Bosnia
and Herzegovina to follow-up on this progress. The number and variety of operations done by neurosurgeons at Department of Neurosurgery Tuzla has grown significantly in the last decade. Spinal surgery has flourished; operations for cervical disc disease have tripled, and many complex lumbar cases are now routinely done. A much wider range of clinical spine problems can now be operated in Tuzla. The intra-cranial repertoire has expanded and the experience level of the surgeons is growing steadily. Endoscopic surgery has been added and the surgeons can begin to add skull base endoscopy to the current endoscopic third ventriculostomies. We were delighted to witness the Endovascular conference and live cases and feel that the initiation of this program in Tuzla was very well and carefully done, sparing the patients the former need to travel elsewhere for treatment. The Radiology/Neurosurgery collaboration is appropriate and the outside training and support from abroad provide a wonderful model of how to initiate new modalities. There are many other positive developments in the Department of Neurosurgery and all of us are proud.
Therefore, we wanted to celebrate our anniversary by bringing us closer to the new
innovations in our field. As a result, we organized two events: the Endovascular Course and
the Neurooncology Symposium with invited lecturers.
It was a true pleasure to see many of our dear guests and friends coming from the United
States, Germany, France, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey and Bosnia to join us for these two events,
and to share their extensive knowledge and experiences with us.
2. Neurointerventional endovascular course took place in the Education center at the
University Clinical Center Tuzla on October 23, 2014. This course provided a comprehensive
overview of the current status of endovascular stroke treatment, techniques and challenges
in stent-assisted coiling of intracranial aneurysms, flow-diversion for treatment of cerebral
aneurysms with a discussion of controversies, and endovascular interventional treatment
of subclavian artery stenosis. This advanced course was designed for neurosurgeons,
interventional neuroradiologists, radiologists and neurologists who are interested in the most
recent developments in interventional endovascular treatment of cerebovascular diseases.
The function of this course was to educate and inform a general audience on endovascular
treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. Participants had an opportunity to enhance their
knowlidge regarding treatment of cerebral aneurysms and AVM as well as treatment of stroke
using endovascular interventional techniques. By the end of course, the attendees had an
excellent understanding of how to perform these approaches and when to apply them to theirpractices. We had the pleasure to listen the invited international speakers Stefan Rath, Adisa Kuršumović, Suad Jaganjac and Mirza Moranjkić.

3. Neurooncology Symposium took place in Hotel Tuzla on October 24, 2014. This
symposium provided a comprehensive overview of the current status and approach to the
diagnosis and treatment of the patients with the brain tumors. This was a continuing of
the series of truly educational activity with the organization of different specialities like
neurosurgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology, neuropathology, neuroradiology
and neurology. The application of diagnosis, therapy and follow-up protocols pertaining
to neurosurgery requires the cooperation of and exchange of opinions between different
specialities.

We hosted many colleagues and friends as the international faculty lecturers:
Robert J. Plunkett, Veetai Lee and Jody Leonardo (Buffalo, USA), Stefan Rath and Adisa
Kuršumović (Deggendorf, Germany), Franck E. Roux (Strasbourg, France), Pavle Miklić
and Darko Chudy (Zagreb, Croatia), Vaso Antunović and Branislav Antić (Beograd, Serbia),
Selcuk Peker (Istanbul, Turkey), Elmir Čičkušić (Tuzla, BH), Rasim Skomorac (Zenica, BH),
Ibrahim Omerhodžić (Sarajevo, BH), Mirsad Hodžić (Tuzla, BH). They gave us interesting
talks, exciting discussions, and productive knowledge exchange during this symposium.
4. Following the anniversary, course and symposium in Tuzla, the Association of
Neurosurgeons in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the South East European Neurosurgical
Society (SEENS) organized a meeting on October 24 2014. It was a great pleasure that
the guest of 30th Anniversary of Department of Neurosurgery, University Clinical Center
Tuzla was Prof.dr. Lukas Rasulić, Vice-President of SEENS who had a discussion with
representatives of Association of Neurosurgeons in BH. Prof.dr Lukas Rasulić informed
the Association of Neurosurgeons in BH about the next steps in the organization of the
SEENS second meeting. This communication will be circulated among the members of the
Association of Neurosurgeons in BH and Prof.dr. Lukas Rasulić.

Mirsad Hodžić, MD, PhD
President of the Organizing Committee