I recently returned from the Pain Medicine Symposium 2012: Evolving Advanced Pain Therapies meeting hosted by the New York and New Jersey Societies of Interventional Pain Physicians. This event took place October 19-21, 2012, at the Westin, Jersey City, and it was my first time attending a conference in this area. It was fantastic for my company and my team because we were able to introduce ourselves to many medical professionals whom we have heard of (but never met), introduce ourselves to new colleagues, and once again reconnect with industry leaders.

During this conference, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by my long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Joshua Prager. His presentation was entitled, Intrathecal Analgesia: the 2012 Guidelines, Prevention of Granuloma concepts that included patient screening, diagnoses, and methods of treatment. He focused on the drugs and some of the recent studies associated with inflammatory masses. He mentioned that the NANS meeting in December will go in-depth regarding the 2012 Polyanalgesic Consensus Committee’s guidelines, specifically for inflammatory masses. I was particularly interested in the treatment regimens and outcomes. The entire presentation was very positive for intrathecal pain professionals, and I, once again, thoroughly enjoyed hearing a portion of Dr. Prager’s vast knowledge.

I was also fortunate to attend lectures by Dr. Allen Burton on osteoporosis and spinal fractures, as well as the treatment regimens for vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are topics that I have heard of over the years, but am not familiar with as they are not really applicable to my practice. However, Dr. Burton provided a very insightful understanding of these procedures for treating conditions of chronic pain.

Though I felt very fortunate to have made the journey to the opposite side of the country, I must take a moment to express our deepest condolences to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. This devastating event is at the forefront of all of our minds, and we would like to convey our sympathies to the loved ones of those whose lives were lost due to the storm.

For more conference recaps, visit our Knowledge Center by clicking here.