Left to right: Rowena A. Hernandez, Maria Cecilia G. Estrella, Milagros Antonio-Kropp, Christian Barkow (behind) Minister and Consul Donna M. Rodriguez, Dr. Thomale, Third Secretary and Vice-Consul Alvin C. Malasig, Nelma J. Casas, Mylah Ann C. Rubio, Amor P. de Asis-Del Mundo and Lourdes Marie Reyes
In line with the 39th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, the Philippine Embassy in Berlin invited Dr. Med. Ulrich-Wilhelm N. Thomale to conduct a lecture entitled “Challenges of Acute and Chronic Care for Children with Spasticity.
The lecture covered neurosurgical treatment possibilities for different challenges in acute and chronic care of cerebral palsy and spasticity. As a preventive measure in cases with hydrocephalus it is important to optimize the treatment for normalization of brain water (cerebral spinal fluid, CSF) circulation in order to avoid long term consequences of brain damage. Modern endoscopic and shunt techniques were described. As treatment options to enhance motor function of spasticity, the minimal invasive technique of “selective dorsal rhizotromy“ (SDR) was explained to enhance the patient’s state of mobility.
During the meeting, the Embassy personnel and Dr. Thomale discussed the possibility of cooperation in terms of medical exchanges between the Pediatric Neurosurgery Department of Charité Hospital and a counterpart hospital in the Philippines in the field of pediatric neurosurgery.
Associate Professor Dr. Thomale has been the Head of the Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Charité University, Department of Medicine since December 2014. He specializes in congenital malformations, neuroendoscopy, brain tumors, and hydrocephalus. He is the representative of the Section for Endoscopic Neurosurgery, neuronavigation and Intraoperative Imaging of the German society of Neurosurgery. He was a research and clinical fellow at the Pediatric Neurosurgery, John Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, USA in 2007. He attended medical schools at the Universities of Tübingen, Vienna, and Berlin. He has published more than ninety (90) papers and book chapters, and has been invited to more than 100 various international conferences and neurosurgical courses.END
