A Message from the President on the 50th Anniversary of Our Society Dear Colleagues and Friends Our Society was founded in 1961 as the International Society for Research in Stereoencephalotomy, and this year 2011 represents the 50th anniversary of the founding. We started a new project “The WSSFN Historical Archive” in our website to record our tremendous historical activities. Through the efforts of numerous members, we amassed a rich pictorial history of developments in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. Dr Joseph Neimat played a pivotal role in this project and I appreciate his contribution very much. Please visit the archive and we welcome ongoing comments and contributions. Since I was appointed as the President, our activities have been very fruitful. The number of the members has been steadily increasing. We established Outreach Program for those practicing in developing countries. I arranged for all the officers and board members of WSSFN to serve as members of the Committee of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. This means WSSFN and WFNS became very close to each other. We organized the WSSFN Psychosurgery Forum in Shanghai in March 2011 and it was very successful. We owe Dr Bomin Sun, the local organizer, very much. During this Forum, we reformed the Committee of Neurosurgery for Psychiatric Disorders, and Dr Bart Nutin was appointed as its chairman. He is now organizing a critical review of the literatures in this field, and its aim is “Neurosurgery for Psychiatric Disorders should internationally move forward in a responsible manner in order to avoid mistakes from the past. “ Our Interim Meeting will be held soon in November in Cape Town, South Africa. I appreciate Professor Graham Fieggens and Dr Roger Melville for their great effort. This Interim Meeting will serve both as a gathering for the society membership and as an outreach to local doctors. One of our society's principal goals is to foster such education as the impact of functional neurosurgery grows on the African continent, as it is growing throughout the world. Our 16th Quadrennial Meeting will be held in Tokyo, Japan from May 27-30, 2013. I would like to ask all the members to save the date. Finally, I deeply appreciate kind messages of relief on the earthquake and tsunami from all over the world. Yours sincerely, President Takaomi Taira, M.D., Ph.D. WSSFN and ESSFN create consensus definition of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery Click here to learn more...

WSSFN Interim Meeting will be in Cape Town, South Africa, 2011 The interim meeting will be held from November 20-23 at the BOE Conference Centre, V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Call for Abstracts Visit the WSSFN Interim Meeting web site at wssfn2011.org for complete information. Abstract submission deadline is August 31, 2011. Further details for submission will be found on the website. Visit the WSSFN Interim Meeting web site. WSSFN Announces its 16th Quadrennial Meeting in Tokyo, Japan 2013. The 16th Quadrennial meeting of the World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery will be held at the Hotel Nikko in Tokyo Japan from May 27-30, 2013. Details of the meeting will be made available as the date approaches. click for details Japan Relief Effort On behalf of the leadership and members of WSSFN we would like to extend our deepest concerns and sympathy to the people of Japan and to Dr. Taira, our president, for the catastrophic events of the earthquake and tsunami that has done unimaginable damage to the country and its people.  Please join us in sending our goodwill and heartfelt wishes to all those who are stricken by this terrible tragedy. If you are interested in donating to any of the agencies providing assistance, please follow this link for more informaiton. Japan Tsunami Relief. . WSSFN Membership Outreach Program The WSSFN is interested in providing educational opportunities to neurosurgeons in the developing world.  As such we are pleased to announce a pilot program of a complimentary first-year membership in the WSSFN to the first 50 neurosurgeons who apply from developing countries, as determined by World Bank criteria. (Please note that you must be in practice in one of the listed countries). Karger is generously providing complimentary on-line subscriptions to Stereotactic & Functional Neurosurgery for this period. Pilot members may obtain a print subscription for the cost of postage (US$53.70). To apply please visit the “become a member” link found on this page. WSSFN Society Newsletter The Spring 2011 newsletter is now online along with an archive of previous newsletters. The WSSFN newsletter team includes: EDITOR: Eric Richter, MD REGIONAL EDITORS: Hiroki Toda, MD, PhD Paresh Doshi, MD If you have anything that you would like to share or include in upcoming newsletters, please contact the editorial team. New reduced rates for special member categories! Click here for more info..." WSSFN Journal, click here