| |
Neurosurgical Education & Research @ TCH
Above: Dr Khurana's Awake Brain Surgery Team using Medtronic Navigation Technology (For more information, click on the In The Media link in the green banner above; Poster credit: J. Valenzuela, Medtronic Australasia).
Click on the  below to visit the relevant section(s) on this Page:
 
Medical Students and Junior Medical Officers: Under the leadership of Professor Guan Chong, Professor of Surgery at the Australian National University Medical School (ANUMS), Dr Khurana supervises the surgical component of training of final (fourth) year medical students at ANUMS. The medical component of the fourth year ANUMS curriculum is supervised by Professor Christian Lueck, an eminent neurologist. For a list of some of the tutorials given by Dr Khurana, visit: www.brain-surgery.us/medstudent.html (or just  ).
Senior medical students from ANUMS regularly rotate through TCH Neurosurgery in 4-week blocks. Junior medical officers are also an essential part of our overall team, and are trained in the basic principles of neurosurgical patient investigation and care during their rotation with us. The Department also welcomes medical students visiting from other universities.
For inquiries, please contact Unit Secretary Ms Vicki Gardiner, per the details posted on the Consultation & Appointment page:
Our Department's special local and visiting medical students (2007-)
- Helena Jang, University of New South Wales, Australia (2007)
- Saurabh Saluja, Harvard University, USA (2007)
- Sean Spencer, University of Pennsylvania, USA (2007)
- Sumit Chadha, University of Queensland, Australia (2007)
- Sudipto Pal, University of New South Wales, Australia (2007)
- Sankar Manchella, Australian National University, Australia (2008) - Special Project Associate
- Special Project: Awake Craniotomy Experience at The Canberra Hospital
- Martin Dobes, Australian National University, Australia (2008) - Special Project Associate
- Special Project: Brain Tumour Incidence Study, ACT & NSW 1994-2008
- Michael Brooks, University of Cambridge, UK (2008)
- Vejay Vakharia, University of Cambridge, UK (2008)
- Sean Robison, Australian National University, Australia (2008) - Special Project Associate
- Special Project: Delayed detection of initially "angiogram-negative" ruptured brain aneurysms
Australasian Trainees: The Canberra Hospital Neurosurgery Department, like its counterparts across Australia and New Zealand, is responsible for the education and training of accredited and prospective trainees of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' (RACS) Surgical Education and Training (SET) Program. This responsibility means that our trainees have access to the teaching and supervised operative experience they need to make them competent neurosurgeons, per the requirements and expectations of the RACS and its Executive Board of Neurosurgery. Some of the education and training benefits that trainees receive at The Canberra Hospital:
- Didactic neurosurgical teaching (including neuroradiology, neuropathology and neuroanatomy)
- Clinical long case tutorials and clinics
- Collegial mentorship
- Intracranial and spinal surgery experience
- Exposure to cutting-edge intraoperative technologies
- Interdepartmental teaching conferences
- A surgical quality assurance program
- Participation in clinical research projects (see below for examples)
- A state-of-the-art RIS-PACS filmless medical imaging system (Siemens, Germany) including intraoperative (neurosurgical theatre displays shown below).
- Other benefits planned for the near future: A state-of-the-art neurosurgical iMRI suite and an Operative Skills Laboratory (OSL).
Through links with the presitgious John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR; ) of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, ANZ registrars also have the option of completing, in addition to their accredited clinical year, a year of basic sciences and/or clinical research which can count towards a Master of Philosophy (Surgery) [MPhilSurg; direct equivalent of an MS] from the ANU (see below). Trainees interested in the optional, accredited "research year" are welcome to contact our Department's Office for further information: (02) 6244 3937, or Dr Anna Cowan at the ANU (02) 6125 1606, 6125 4596.
Our Registrars (2006-)
- 2006: Dr Adam Fowler (Senior), Dr Heather Kirk
- 2007: Dr Heather Kirk (Senior), Dr Prashanth Rao, Dr Kevin Seow
- 2008: Dr Ali Ghahreman (Senior), Dr Ali Hameid, Dr Prashanth Rao, Dr Kevin Seow
- 2009: Dr Peter Mews (Senior), Dr Prashanth Rao, Dr Mahesh Ramanan
GP Articles: Published in Canberra Doctor, the Official print publication of the ACT Division of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), these articles have been written for a diverse audience, including general practitioners, junior medical officers, senior medical students and nursing and paramedical staff. Their downloadable PDF versions are available by clicking on the titles below.
For the Official Website of Canberra Doctor:
Masters Degree: The Australian National University (ANU), ranked the top university in Australia and one of the world's best universities (click here for ranking details), offers a Masters in Philosophy (Surgery) or MPhil(Surg) degree in surgical research, equivalent of an "MS". Currently, Dr Khurana is supervising two Masters candidates (Prashanth Rao and Martin Dobes). Dr John Fuller (Head of the Neurosurgery Unit at TCH), is an adviser to Masters candidates. Current Masters projects are listed below (numbers 2 and 5). Persons interested in this Program are welcome to contact our Department's Office for further information: (02) 6244 3937, or Dr Anna Cowan (Associate Dean, HR Management Section; John Curtin School of Medical Research) at the ANU (02) 6125 1606, 6125 4596; anna.cowan@anu.edu.au
The spirit of postgraduate collaboration between the Department of Neurosurgery at TCH, the ANU/Medical School has benefitted enormously from the input of the current Dean of the ANU Medical School, Professor Nick Glasgow, the recent Dean of the ANU Medical School, Professor Paul Gatenby, in addition to the Head of the Medical Appointment & Training Unit (MATU), Professor Mark Bassett, Professor Guan Chong, and also Dr Anna Cowan and Profesor Caryl Hill both from the renowned John Curtin School of Medical Research.
Neurosurgical Research at TCH: A number of clinical research projects have been commenced in 2007 at TCH under Dr Khurana's direct supervision. These projects, all well under way, include:
- Intraoperative ultrasonographic flowmetry - Project leader: Dr Heather Kirk (Registrar). Abstract delivered as a platform presentation at the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) Annual Meeting, Liverpool, England, April 2008.
- Manuscript: Kirk HJ et al. British Journal of Neurosurgery 2009; 23:40-47. Click this icon:
- Neurosurgical applications of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) - Project leader: Dr Prashanth Rao (TCH Neurosurgical Registrar & ANU Surgical Masters Candidate). This project is being done as a collaboration between TCH Neurosurgery and Dr Andrew James and Dr Andrew Janke (ANU scientists), and The Canberra Hospital's Radiology Department (Professor Graham Biurski and Ms Dianne Lane). MRS abstract delivered as a platform presentation at the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia (NSA) Annual Meeting, Gold Coast, September 2007. Manuscript in preparation.
- Intraoperative fluorescence angiography - Project leader: Dr Kevin Seow (Registrar). Abstract received the Best Paper Award at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons ACT Division Meeting, Canberra, November 2007.
- Selective awake craniotomy - Project leader: Mr Sankar Manchella (Medical Student, Australian National University Medical School, & Special Project Associate with TCH Neurosurgery). Combined retrospective and prospective study. Manuscript in preparation.
- Brain Tumour Incidence - Project leader: Mr Martin Dobes (TCH Junior Medical Officer & ANU Surgical Masters Candidate). This multicentre project is being done as a collaboration with 16 pathology departments. Study in progress.
- Mobile phones and brain tumours - An international collaboration examining the health risks of mobile phone technology. Click the following PDF icons for the relevant manuscript, letter, or debate co/authored by Dr Khurana:
- Letter: Khurana VG. Science 2008; 322: 1325.
- Debate: Khurana VG et al. Medical Physics 2008; 35: 5203-5206.
- Peer-reviewed article & meta-analysis: Khurana VG et al. Surgical Neurology 2009; in press.
- Letter: Khurana VG et al. Surgical Neurology 2009; in press.
Dr Khurana is also collaborating as an Associate Investigator with Dr Caryl Hill (Principal Investigator and Professor of Neuroscience at the Australian National University) on a project funded by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Some New Brain Surgery Technologies in Australasia: Some new intraoperative technologies to enhance the safety and success of neurovascular surgery are shown below. These technologies were first used in the Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) region by Dr Khurana's team at The Canberra Hospital. Images and technologies courtesy Transonic Systems Inc., Leica Microsystems Inc., Michael Bryant/Lifehealthcare and The Canberra Hospital. The Canberra Hospital is the Leica Microsystems "Reference Centre" in Neurosurgery for the ANZ Region -- an educational partnership aiming to enhance neurosurgery and optimise neurosurgical patient outcomes through advanced operating microscope technologies.
Upper three panels: Quantitative neurovascular microultrasonography, first carried out in ANZ by Dr Khurana's team on March 23, 2007. The small hand-held ultrasound probe (upper-middle) and flowmetre (upper-right) measure blood flow across "at risk" vessels (upper-left) during brain aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation and tumour surgery. Detection of any substantial differences in flow measurements before and after surgical treatment of these conditions allows the surgeon to make any necessary corrections before the patient leaves the operating room. Alternatively, the device can confirm the success of disconnection of arteriovenous malformations and fistulae. Use of the device has been proposed to significantly decrease the risk of postoperative stroke. Lower four panels: Fluorescence cerebral angiography first carried out in ANZ by Dr Khurana's team on August 9, 2007. The new Leica OH4 operating microscope (lower-left panel) at The Canberra Hospital allows neurosurgeons to conveniently image blood vessels in real-time using fluorescence technology. An example is shown in the remaining lower panels (15 mm "fusiform" brain aneurysm of the internal carotid artery seen through the operating microscope during "normal" and "fluorescence" imaging modes immediately prior to surgical clipping). Imaging the same area in fluorescence after surgical treatment allows the surgeon to more clearly confirm the effectiveness of the procedure, including the desired cessation of blood flow through the aneurysm or malformation, and preservation of blood flow through surrounding "at-risk" vessels, even the smallest "perforating" vessels as shown above. This technology represents a major advance in safety during neurovascular surgery.
|
