Program requirements for residency/fellowship education in neuroendovascular surgery/interventional neuroradiology: A special report on graduate medical education

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neuroendovascular surgery/interventional neuroradio logy is a relatively new subspecialty that has been evolving since the mid- 1970s, During the past 2 decades, significant advances have been made in th is field of minimally invasive therapy for the treatment of intracranial ce rebral aneurysms; acute stroke therapy intervention; cerebral arteriovenous malformations; carotid cavernous sinus fistulas; head, neck, and spinal co rd vascular lesions; and other complex cerebrovascular diseases. Advanced p ostresidency fellowship programs have now been established in North America , Europe, and Japan, specificality for training in this new subspecialty. METHODS: From 1986 to the present, an ad hoc committee of senior executive committee members from the American Society of Interventional and Therapeut ic Neuroradiology, the Joint Section of Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery, and t he American Society of Neuroradiology met to establish, by consensus, gener al guidelines for training physicians in this field. RESULTS: In April 1999, the Executive Committee of the Joint Section of Cer ebrovascular Neurosurgery voted unanimously to endorse these training stand ard guidelines. In May 1999, the Executive Committee of the American Societ y of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology and the American Society of Neuroradiology also unanimously voted to endorse these guidelines, in J une 1999, the Executive Council of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons unanimously voted to en dorse these guidelines, CONCLUSION: The following guidelines for residency/fellowship education hav e now been endorsed by the parent organization of both the interventional a nd diagnostic neuroradiology community, as well as both senior organization s representing neurosurgery in North America, These guidelines for training should be used as a reference and guide to any institution establishing a training program in neuroendovascular surgery/interventional neuroradiology .