CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER DELEGATES PRIVY COUNCIL MEMBER DRAGOMIR ACOVIC TO OPEN SPINAL SURGERY CONGRESS AT WHITE PALACE

Belgrade, 6 December 2007 – Mr. Dragomir Acovic, member of the Privy Council, opened at the White Palace on behalf of Crown Prince Alexander II tonight the 5th Spinal Surgery Congress. The Congress was organized by the Banjica Institute for Orthopaedic Diseases and is under the patronage of Crown Prince Alexander and the Serbian Ministry of Health.

Speeches were delivered by Mr. Dragomir Acovic, who greeted the guests on behalf of Crown Prince Alexander, then by Mr. Tomislav Stantic, State Secretary of Health, professor Zdeslav Milinkovic, President of the Congress and Director of Spinal Surgery Centre of the Banjica Institute for Orthopaedic Diseases.

The ceremonial opening was attended by the leading world experts from the field of spinal surgery from the United States of America, Spain, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Germany, and Turkey, who will deal with the issues of the present and the future of spinal surgery.

For the first time, as part of the 5th annual meeting of the Expert Group for Spinal Surgery, there will be a course of continued medical education (CME) organised by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade, with the following subject: “Modern principles of curing the spinal cord injuries”.

The CME course will include participation of over 150 orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physiatrists, physical therapists, and medical staff who deal with the issues of the spinal cord. A few surgeries will be performed as part of this course. The course is taking place on 5 and 6 December 2007 at the Banjica Institute for Orthopaedic Diseases.

Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine strongly support the organisation of various Congresses in the field of medicine, because only with the newest knowledge and continued education can there be a better quality of treatment of our patients and a general improvement of the condition of our healthcare system.