EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MAY 3, 2004

ORLANDO (May 3, 2004) - Fremont Wirth, MD, was named President-Elect of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) at the AANS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, May 1- May 6, 2004. A member of the AANS since 1980, he serves as a Member of the Professional Liability Task Force; Member of the Professional Conduct Committee and a Member of the Bylaws Committee.

Dr. Wirth has also served as president of the Georgia Medical Society, President of the Southern Neurological Society, Vice President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Governor of the American College of Surgeons and Director of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Wirth is assistant clinical professor for the Department of Surgery (Neurosurgery) at the Medical College of Georgia. He received his undergraduate degree from Williams College in 1962, and earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University in 1966. Dr. Wirth completed his surgical internship and one year of general surgery fellowship at Johns-Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He served as a Clinical Associate in Neurosurgery at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and completed his residency and fellowship in Neurosurgery at Barnes Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

He is a member of numerous professional societies including the American Medical Association, American Board of Neurological Surgery, Georgia Medical Society, The Academy of Neurological Surgery, The Southern Neurosurgical Society, Neurosurgical Society of American, Georgia Neurosurgical Society, Medical Association of Georgia, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Wirth has edited many books, and has authored and co-authored many book chapters and presentations on a variety of neurosurgical topics including head and spinal cord injury, aneurysms, tumors and cervical disc disease.

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 6,500 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves.

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Media Representatives: If you would like to cover the meeting or interview a neurosurgeon - either on-site or via telephone - please contact the AANS Communications Department at (847) 378-0517 or call the Annual Meeting Press Room beginning Monday, May 3, at: 407/685-5408.>/p>