September 2018 saw the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) joining forces with the Association of British Neurologists (ABN) to provide an inspiring conference that embodied the culture of increased collaboration between varied fields of medicine.
Elder statesmen of neurosurgery remembered a time when neurosurgeons rarely even spoke to the neurologists working in their own hospital! Yet now, weekly multidisciplinary meetings are well established throughout the NHS and decisions about the best way to treat each patient are made jointly between neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuro-oncologists and other health professionals involved in their care.
There has been an explosion in surgical technology and the conference was well supported by a wide range of companies displaying everything from intra-operative MRI (live scans during neurosurgery) to new materials that can be used to replace sections of skull that may need to be removed to allow access to the brain.