Pittsburgh, December 6, 2007 -- Third-year resident Nestor D. Tomycz, MD, received the best presentation award at the third annual Department of Neurological Surgery Stuart Rowe Society Lectureship held on December 5.

Tomycz's presentation on "MRI Fails to Identify Unstable Cervical Spine Injury Misses By CT in Obtunded or Comatose Trauma Patients: The Four-Year Experience of a Level I Trauma Center" was one of eight research lectures presented by department residents during the day honoring Stuart Niles Rowe, the department’s first chairman and an early advocate of broad neurosurgical training.

The award was chosen and presented by the lectureship’s honored guest, John A. Jane, Sr, MD, PhD, professor of neurological surgery at the University of Virginia Health System. In announcing the award at an evening reception and dinner at the Fox Chapel Golf Club, Dr. Jane commented that all eight lectures were thoughtfully prepared and deserving of the award.

(left) John Jane offers comments during journal club session; (right) Nestro Tomycz makes point in talk on cervical spine trauma care.

It was the second recent award for Dr. Tomycz on this research subject. In October, he took second prize in the Resident Trauma Paper Competition held at the American College of Surgeons/Pennsylvania Trauma Conference in Lancaster, PA.

In addition to the resident lectures, the Stuart Rowe Society Lectureship Day featured a lecture on craniofacial surgery by Dr. Jane. Dr. Jane also presided over a journal club session and later capped the day with a dinner talk on his experiences in spine surgery.