14th Annual MINS Conference — Costa Rica

 

 

REGISTRATION

General Registration: Click Here to Register Now!

 

Exhibitors/Sponsors: Click Here to Register Your Sponsorship!

 

RESORT RESERVATIONS

Click Here to Book Your Group Rate by March 10, 2025

 

For any sponsorship or other related questions, please contact Jennifer Harris at harrisjen10@yahoo.com.

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Minimally Invasive Neurosurgical Society Annual Meeting

Los Sueños, Marriott Resort, Costa Rica

March 13–15, 2025

 

Conservation & Sustainability of Anatomical Structures

 

 

Course Designed for Neurosurgeons, Orthopedic Surgeons, Fellows, Residents, ENTs, PAs, NPs & Physician Scientists

 

 

COURSE DIRECTORS:

Neel Anand, MD; Pierce Nunley, MD; Ernest Braxton, MD; Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, FACS; Daniel Fahim, MD; and Michael Song, MD.

 

Neel Anand, MD Orthopedic Surgeon Los Angeles, California	Pierce Nunley, MD Orthopedic Surgeon Shreveport, Louisiana	Ernest Braxton, MD, MBA Neurosurgeon Vail, Colorado	Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, FACS MINS President Southfield, Michigan
Daniel Fahim, MD Neurosurgeon Southfield, Michigan	Michael Song, MD Neurosurgeon Reno, Nevada

 

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2025 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT:

William Tobler, MD

We are pleased to announce that William Tobler, MD, retired neurosurgeon with Mayfield Brain & Spine and current Medical Director of Philanthropy at Mayfield Foundation, is this years MINS Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

During his distinguished 39-year career at Mayfield Brain & Spine, Dr. William Tobler has kept his sights firmly set on the horizon – the next neurosurgery frontier.

He earned his medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1978, completed internships in internal medicine and general surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital, and served a residency in neurosurgery at UC Medical Center and Mayfield starting in 1980.

Dr. Tobler joined what was then called the Mayfield Neurological Institute in 1985, establishing his practice at The Christ Hospital.

He has been integrally involved in The Mayfield Spine Surgery Center, The Center for Surgical Innovation and The Mayfield Education & Research Foundation. He has been pioneering advances in spine surgery tools and techniques. And most important of all, caring for the generations of patients on the operating table or sitting with him in clinic.

"The defining vision of Mayfield has always been innovation," Dr. Tobler said. "At the nexus of clinical care, education, research and innovation is that 'secret sauce' that has allowed us to serve patients with excellence for more than 85 years. I have been privileged to play a role in it. I can't wait to see what Mayfield does next."

Dr. Tobler will stay involved in the Mayfield Education & Research Foundation as board chair and as medical director of development, helping to generate support for the clinical research and training that is the lifeblood of Mayfield excellence.

"Dr. Tobler personifies both our distinguished legacy and our ambitious plans for the future," said Dr. Andrew Ringer, chair of Mayfield's Board of Directors. "As a mentor and friend to so many of us, he has always carried and nurtured the spirit of excellence, innovation and collegiality that has been a hallmark of our independent practice. His contributions to Mayfield will endure."

During his storied career, Dr. Tobler has performed more than 18,000 surgical cases. He has collaborated on approximately two dozen peer-reviewed articles and a similar number of book chapters. He has given more than 30 international presentations and been invited three times to perform surgeries in other countries. He has led nearly 30 clinical trials as principal investigator or co-investigator.

He also helped train nearly 70 residents and nearly 20 fellows, including many of Mayfield's current neurosurgeons. And he is one of a select few Mayfield physicians to become a full professor at the University of Cincinnati, until Mayfield separated from UC's Department of Neurosurgery in 2017.

Dr. Tobler's innovations and accomplishments include:

• Launching and growth of the Mayfield Spine Surgery Center, including serving as its first medical director from 2006-2009 and as chairman of the Board of Managers since 2010.
• Board chairman of the Mayfield Education & Research Foundation since 2008. During his tenure there, assets have more than quadrupled, and he initiated the concept that became the Mayfield Surgical Innovation Center. MERF is now embarking on an ambitious project of developing a regional brain tumor institute.
• Developed and launched the Pelorus stereotactic surgical system that used the arc-centered ball-and-socket targeting system. Nearly 100 systems were marketed and sold.
• Developed the Mayfield ACCISS computer-based image-guided system. This system uses optical tracking with the ball and socket concept targeting lesions in the brain. This concept is currently used worldwide. Ohio Medical Instrument Co. obtained a patent on the system, evolved from the Pelorus system and since licensed to Medtronic. Royalties were directed to the Mayfield Education & Research Foundation.
• Developed the first electro-magnetic tracking device for image-guided surgery, collaborating with scientists from the Charité Hospital in Berlin.
• Launched the Mayfield MobileSCAN CT, a mobile CT scanner that required the development of specialized tables by Ohio Medical Instrument Co. (Schaerer Medical USA) to position patients for the use of image-guided spine and brain surgery.

MINS is pleased to honor Dr. William Tobler with it’s 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.  

 

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2025 KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Sam Trull

We are pleased to announce that Sam Trull, wildlife conservationist and photographer, will be the 2025 MINS Keynote Speaker for Friday evening, March 14, 2025.

Wildlife conservationist and photographer Sam Trull's world changed forever when she gave up her comfortable life in the United States for the wilds of Costa Rica. After almost twenty years of working with animals, one creature in particular had captured her heart: the sloth.

In her stunning photo series, Slothlove, Sam shares intimate portraits of these captivating and endearing animals from her unique perspective as their protector, mother, and friend. Sam not only found her life's work among her beloved sloths; she also found comfort, friendship, and inspiration after having suffered a devastating loss. Woven in with these images are unforgettable stories of heartbreak and survival, as well as interesting facts about these intelligent and beautiful creatures.

Sam has been a photographer and a wildlife biologist for decades. After many expeditions to Madagascar, West Africa, and Central America, in January 2013, she settled in Costa Rica, where she co-founded and is the executive director of the Sloth Institute. Her first photo book, Slothlove, was published in April 2016.

>> You can buy Sam Trull's book, Slothlove, on Amazon by clicking this link.

 

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2025 MINS MEETING AGENDA

Minimally Invasive Neurosurgical Society Annual Meeting

Los Sueños, Marriott Resort, Costa Rica

March 13–15, 2025

 

Conservation & Sustainability of Anatomical Structures and Function

Thursday, March 13

4:00 – 5:00pm       Exhibitor Set-Up
5:00 – 6:00pm      Signature Cocktail Hour with Exhibitors
5:40 – 6:00pm      Blue Marlin Exhibitor Talk

6:00 – 9:00pm      Dinner talks
6:00 – 6:05pm       Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, MSc – Welcome Address
MINS 4th Annual Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: William Tobler, MD
6:05 – 6:45pm      Keynote address: William Tobler, MD, Mayfield Clinic – Advancing Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery
6:45 – 7:00pm       MINS Lifetime Achievement Award to William Tobler, MD (presented by Mick Perez-Cruet, MD)

Blue Marlin Session:
7:00 – 7:20pm       Ernest Braxton, MD – Awake Outpatient Anesthesiology: Is this Really Safe and Effective?
7:20 – 7:40pm       Neel Anand, MD – Technological Advances in Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Treatment
7:40 – 8:00pm       Pierce Nunley, MD – Cervical Arthroplasty: Improving Patient Outcomes
8:00 – 8:20pm       Michael Song, MD – Experience with 3 Level Cervical Arthroplasty: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
8:20 – 8:40pm       Daniel Fahim, MD – Minimally Invasive vs Open Spine Surgery: True Patient Benefit or Just Good Marketing
8:40 – 9:00pm       Daniel Kim, MD – Nuances and Techniques of Mastering Biportal Endoscopic Spine Surgery
9:00 – 9:20pm       Blue Marlin Vendor Talk

Session: Ocean Side Chat with Vendors

 

Friday, March 14

7:00 – 8:00am      Breakfast with Exhibitors
Scarlet Macaw Session
Moderator: Daniel Fahim, MD

8:00 – 8:20am       Aaron Rapp, MD – Augmented Reality Image Guidance in the Outpatient Surgical Center
8:20 – 8:40am       Jeff Jacob, MD – Nuances and Techniques to Performing Safe and Effective Minimally Invasive Skull Based Surgery
8:40 – 9:00am        Luis Tumialan, MD – Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: The Conversion
9:00 – 9:20am       Pouya Entenami, MD – Advances in Endovascular Neurosurgery: What Can We Do Now?
9:20 – 9:40am       Brian Gantwerker, MD – Neurosurgical Advocacy
9:40 – 10:00am     Stephen Rapp, MD – The Business of Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Can Physicians Do This?

10:00am till 4:00pm    Pura Vida (Free Time)

4:00 – 5:00pm      Signature Cocktails with Exhibitors

4:45 – 5:00pm      Scarlet Macaw Vendor Talk

Poison Dart Frog Session (Panel Discussion):
Challenges to Bringing Technological Advances in Minimally Invasive Surgery to the Market Place
Moderator: Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, MSc (ft. Ernest Braxton, MD; Daniel Kim, MD; Pierce Nunley, MD; Michael Song, MD; Neel Anand, MD)

6:00 – 9:00pm      Dinner talks
6:00 – 7:00pm      Keynote Address: Sam Trull – The Sloth Institute, Costa Rica

Three Toed Sloth Session:
7:00 – 7:20pm       Joshua Perez-Cruet, BS – Minimally Invasive Healthcare: The Urgent Need to Reduce Emissions and Waste
7:20 – 7:40pm       Graciela Perez, DSc – Advances in Artificial Intelligence Improve your Clinical Workflows and Outcomes
7:40 – 7:55pm       Casey Spinelli, MD – Surgical Nuances to Mastering Minimally Invasive Laminectomy for Stenosis
7:55 – 8:10pm       Jordan Black, MD – Proving the Effectiveness of MIS-TLIF
8:10 – 8:25pm       Leon Chieng, MD – Focus MIS Treatment of Complex Scoliosis: Can Lasting Outcomes be Achieved
8:25 – 8:45pm       Eric Mong, MD – Bone Grafts and Cost-Effective Spine Surgery
8:45 – 9:00pm       Ishan Singhal, MD – TBD
9:00 – 9:10pm       Howler Monkey Vendor Talk
9:10 – 9:20pm       Howler Monkey Vendor Talk

Session: Beach Side Chat with Vendors

 

Saturday, March 15

7:00 – 8:00am      Breakfast with Exhibitors

Saturday Session
Moderator: Jeff Jacob, MD

8:00 – 8:20am       Rachel Perez-Cruet – Evolution of Robotics to Facilitate Minimally Invasive Surgery
8:20 – 8:40am       Maggie Brabbins – Evidence for Bone Graft Extenders Enhancing Spinal Fusion
8:40 – 9:00am       Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, MSc – The Most Important Development in My Minimally Invasive Spine Practice
9:00 – 9:45am       Keynote Address: Rasul Chaudhry, PhD – The Basic Science Evolution of Stem Cell Based Treatments: Reality or Myth
9:45 – 10:00am     TBD

Toucan Session:
10:00 – 12:00pm   Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Vendor Sponsored Talks

Meeting Adjourned

 

 

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SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT REQUEST - Link Below!

Click Here to Submit an Abstract Request

 

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2025 EXHIBITOR/SPONSOR INFORMATION

Sponsorship Levels

For any sponsorship or other related questions, please contact Jennifer Harris at harrisjen10@yahoo.com.

 

 

Our Sponsors

Sponsors TBD

 

 

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Location Information:

LOS SUEÑOS MARRIOTT RESORT
Herradura, Costa Rica 028-4023


https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sjols-los-suenos-marriott-ocean-and-golf-resort/overview/

 

RESORT RESERVATIONS

Click Here to Book Your Group Rate by March 10, 2025

 

Additional Contact Information

 

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