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    Thomas Kretschmer, MD, PhD, IFAANS, FEBNS

    Director
    Department of Neurosurgery & Neurorestoration Klinikum Klagenfurt, Austria

    Professor Dr. med. Thomas Kretschmer, MD, PhD, IFAANS, FEBNS
    Director Department of Neurosurgery & Neurorestoration, specialised Neurosurgical Intensive Care (cert.)
    Head Neurooncology Center (cert.), Skullbase Center (cert.), Paralysis Center
    Klinikum Klagenfurt-Federal State Hospital, Austria

    Publications – 82 papers, 66 book chapters, 2 textbooks (nerve & vascular), > 365 oral national and international presentations
    Numerous hon activities & positions for prof. societies (EANS, WFNS, ÖGNC, BDNC, DGNC, AANS, CNS, SNSS, ISPNS)

    Raised and born in southern Germany I was involved with competitive sports (wrestling, long-distance Triathlon) and entered medical school in Ulm Germany 1987 with time at Vienna University/AT, where I finished a doctoral thesis on slow/DC potentials in tactile mental imagery. I held my first position as a certified physician in South Africa for a year in search of more practical and hands on experience. This considerable impacted my clinical thinking, medical behavior and further way. After my return to Germany and a surgical interim I entered the neurosurgical residency program at Magdeburg University and changed early for Ulm/Günzburg University because of my fascination for reconstruction of nerve and functional restoration. My “mother” Hospital Günzburg/Ulm enabled a broad clinical foundation under my mentors Profs. Hans-Peter Richter (Chair) & Gregor Antoniadis (Deputy Chair) before I became faculty. I finished three one-year fellowships abroad. Nerve, still as a resident under Prof. DG Kline in New Orleans (99-2000), and Cerebrovascular in Toronto under Profs. Wallace and Tymianski (2006-7) as well as Skullbase and cerebrovascular under Prof. Heros and Morcos (2007-8).
    Scientifically I was furthered by the German research society with a one-year stipend for research abroad at the LSUHSC Neuroscience Center New Orleans. This led to a PhD thesis on ion channel and ankyrin G redistribution of injured human nerve and painful neuroma.
    At present my academic interests are mainly in Nerve (regeneration, imaging, surgical techniques) and focused surgical approaches. At the side I developed an interest in performance psychology applied to neurosurgery.
    In 2008 at the age of 40 I was elected to my first Chief position at Oldenburg neurosurgical Department which fed in being announced Director of the newly found Neurosurgical University Department in 2012, that I helped to build.
    In 2017 I changed for a director position at the federal state hospital and Center of Maximum care at Klagenfurt, the most southern city of Austria, where I live with my wife Barbara and our sons Leo and Paul.

    It means a lot to me, and I feel very honored to be invited to give the Kline Peripheral Nerve lecture as Dr. Kline was in many regards pivotal for my development. He opened this fantastic world of peripheral nerve surgery for me, and introduced me to marvelous colleagues in the field.

    Disclosure(s): Brainlab AG (Munich, Germany): Consultant (Ongoing); Maxonis: Board Member/Officer/Trustee (Ongoing)

    Presentation(s):