Post by Federica Pace

Not the most timely announcement, but still one I’m very proud of. I’m very pleased to share that our paper “The state of cerebrovascular training in the United Kingdom,” was published in the British Journal of Neurosurgery. Over the past decade, cerebrovascular training for neurosurgical residents has changed dramatically, shaped by the rise of endovascular techniques, the decline of open aneurysm surgery, and the increasingly conservative management of arteriovenous malformations. In our study, we reviewed 12 years of UK neurosurgical elogbook data (2011–2022 inclusive) to understand how residents’ exposure to open and endovascular procedures has evolved. Key findings: 🔹 Fewer trainees are performing most cerebrovascular cases; for example, the proportion of residents performing half of all anterior circulation aneurysm clippings dropped from 40% in 2011 to just 5.8% in 2022. 🔹 Endovascular exposure remains minimal, with only a handful of trainees recording any such procedures. 🔹 These patterns likely reflect centralisation of services, regional differences in practice, and subspecialty self-selection among trainees. 🔹 As a result, to achieve competency in complex cerebrovascular surgery, additional fellowship training is likely to remain essential. Our findings highlight the need to rethink how we deliver and structure cerebrovascular training, ensuring the next generation of neurosurgeons gains the necessary experience in both open and endovascular techniques. Huge thanks to my co-authors and especially appreciative of Dr Nithish Jayakumar’s mentorship and guidance that shaped this project. link to article: https://lnkd.in/dgwyqE2U