The conference was opened by Prof. Zbigniew Gaciong, Rector of MUW, Dr. Magdalena Kocot-Kępska, President of the Polish Society for the Study of Pain, and Dariusz Kosson, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, chairman of the Interventional Section of the Polish Society for the Study of Pain.
Dariusz Kosson, MD, PhD: - During the symposium, we discussed the possibilities of using interventional methods of treating chronic pain and the directions of their development. The exchange of experiences with guests from abroad indicated the urgent need for standardization of the discussed pain treatment procedures in Poland. Attention was also drawn to the lack of clear rules regarding the hospitalization of patients for chronic pain, which differentiates Poland from other countries, and in addition - to the legitimacy and necessity of establishing chronic pain treatment units in our country. Because, as examples from abroad show: standardization of procedures and the presence of such hospital units is facilitating access for patients in need.
Recognized group of experts
The conference consisted of a lecture part and a workshop part. The presenters were recognized specialists: Prof. Bogdan Ciszek, Dr. Michal But, Dr. Ganesan Baranidharan, Dr. Denis Dupoiron, Dr. Teodor Goroszeniuk, Dr. Grzegorz Górniewski, Dr. Dalvina Hanu-Cernat, Dr. Andrzej Król, Dr. Wojciech Nierodzinski, Dr. Raja Reddy, Dr. Przemysław Strulak, Dr. Panos Theodosiadis.
During the lectures, speakers covered topics including interventional treatment of chronic pain in large joints, back pain, the use of regenerative medicine, the use of peripheral and central neuromodulation methods, and the use of intrathecal analgesic delivery methods.
Workshops
The workshop demonstrated interventional pain management techniques. Emphasis was placed on learning how to properly and safely perform procedures under X-ray, ultrasound, and CT guidance, such as inserting catheters and stimulating electrodes into the epidural space, accessing Gasser's ganglion through the oval opening under X-ray guidance, accessing the visceral plexus, nerve roots, and superior hypogastric plexus under CT guidance, or identifying nerve structures using X-ray and ultrasound. A miniature surgical endoscope was also demonstrated, used to visually confirm the correct placement of a thermoablative electrode, cryosonde or pacemaker in the immediate vicinity of the nerve structures targeted for intervention.
Learning ultrasound anatomy included the identification of anatomical structures relevant to interventional procedures for the treatment of chronic pain, including the cervical spine, shoulder, thoracic and lumbar spine, and knee. Participants also had the opportunity to learn sono-anatomy in terms of diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain of other structures.
The workshops were attended by a total of more than 70 people: anesthesiologists, neurosurgeons, pain medicine specialists and neurologists from various countries, including the UK, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, France, Greece.
Co-organizers of the 7th International Conference on Interventional Pain Management and Neuromodulation: Polish Neuromodulation Society and London Pain Forum.
