It is my great pleasure to invite you all to the 27th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Congress of Neurological Surgeons (JCNS) to be held in Sendai Sun-Plaza from May 18-20, 2007.

The JCNS has been committing to the continuous education for neurosurgeons by holding its annual meeting every year since its foundation in 1981. In the 26th Annual Meeting of JCNS held in 2006, history of JCNS during the past quarter century has been just summarized along with the history of neurosurgery. Again it is our great honor for all the staffs in our department to organize the 27th Annual Meeting of JCNS in Sendai, and we hope that the coming meeting will provide one of the best opportunities for the continuous neurosurgical education.

The main theme of the 27th Annual Meeting of JCNS is ‘Neurosurgery in Multimodality-Era: its Maturation & Perspective’. There is no question that the contemporary neurosurgery, such as the diagnostic and operative neurosurgery, is strongly supported by the multimodal techniques and equipments. In neurosurgical treatments, there has been remarkable progress in the interventional neuroradiology, stereotactic radiosurgery, neuro-endoscopic surgery, and stereotactic functional neurosurgery in addition to microsurgical techniques. Current situation is more likely to be their cooperative maturations between each modalities rather than the competition to each other. These days, it is getting more and more essential for the patients as well as for the neurosurgeons to choose their best treatment among the multimodal procedures due to the increasing evidence and the cumulative results of multimodal treatments. All the neurosurgeons would be requested to understand such contemporary neurosurgical situation, and to have

the accurate knowledge about multimodalities. In light of such dynamic changes of our surroundings, I believe it is further important for us to learn definite knowledge and techniques for the professional growth.

Sendai is the academic and industrial centers of Japan’s Tohoku area, locating about 350 km to the north of Tokyo, and one of major destinations of tourists in Japan. Sendai nickname “Mori no miyako” means “city in the forest” or “literally city of green”. Please join the 27th Annual Meeting of JCNS and enjoy both scientific program and fascinating green of Sendai.

Teiji Tominaga, M.D., Ph.D.
President of the 27th Annual Meeting of JCNS
Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery
Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine