Leading concussion experts coming to Toronto area to brainstorm

Konkussion Retreat in Kleinburg, Ont., is expected to attract the foremost experts in the field.

Thestar.com
Sept. 14, 2015
By Dave Feschuk

Kleinburg, a quaint village in Vaughan, is perhaps best known for a gallery devoted to the works of Canada’s most famous group of artists.

Later this month it will also be the meeting place for some of the world’s most influential concussion experts. Spearheaded by Dr. Neilank Jha, a GTA neurosurgeon, the Konkussion Retreat is expected to attract a list of many of the foremost experts in the field.

“I think it’s very important,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, the influential Boston-area neurosurgeon who has been an important voice in the conversation around sports and brain injuries.

“Dr. Jha is trying to bring together people who’ve been active in the concussion field and try and focus on where we’ve been, where we are, but most important, where we need to go - what are the challenges that remain in diagnosis, management, treatment. It’s good we’re being brought together by Dr. Jha. I totally support his agenda.”

Along with the usual speeches and workshops and an invitation-only dinner catered by celebrity chef Susur Lee, the attendees will sign off on a white paper that will be intended to set the new global standard in concussion management.

“Bringing together a group of people in the know to form a consensus, it’s important,” said Dr. Gillian Hotz, a Hamilton-born neuroscientist at the University of Miami.

“We’ve hit the tipping point (in the concussion conversation). I think it’s now a discussion at people’s kitchen tables. But now I think it’s up to some of us experts to say, ‘OK, concussions are manageable and treatable, and this is the best way we know how to do it.’

Dr. Charles Tator, the Toronto neurosurgeon who counts himself among the pioneers of concussion care, called the conference “a great opportunity to get caught up (on the latest findings) from experts from around the world.”

“We haven’t had a concussion conference of this magnitude before, with so many excellent experts coming to talk about various aspects of concussion,” said Dr. Tator.

While the medical sphere is rife with politics and rivalries, Dr. Jha said he has developed a philosophy that prioritizes inclusiveness and open-source research.

“Forget the politics,” Dr. Jha said. “Anybody who’s advancing the field, I want to work with them.”

Dr. Cantu said Dr. Jha has succeeded in bringing together experts because of his “passion” and “diligence.

“It isn’t easy to bring a lot of people together and make them work collectively,” Dr. Cantu said.

“But if you’re going to do it, it’s going to take a ton of effort. And he’s certainly put that forward.”