MS. RENÉE R. CRUICKSHANK

^{BSc., MB., BS, FRCS Neurosurgery (England), DM Neurosurgery (Mona)}

^{Consultant Neurosurgeon and Spine Surgeon}

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY

Ms. Renée Cruickshank is a double-qualified neurosurgeon operating in Trinidad, Jamaica and London. She treats patients with a broad spectrum of cranial and spinal disorders:

General neurosurgical care, including hydrocephalus and other cerebrospinal (CSF) disorders, head trauma, infection, cranial tumours and peripheral nerve surgery.
Degenerative spinal conditions (patients with back pain, sciatica/leg pain, neck pain, arm pain, radiculopathy, myelopathy), spinal deformity, spinal instrumentation/ metalwork, craniocervical junction pathology, artificial disc replacement surgery.
Minimally invasive spinal surgery, including surgery using tubes and endoscopes.
Spinal intradural and extradural tumours, bone tumours including metastatic spinal disease/ malignant cord compression
Spinal blood vessel malformations.
Surgery for spinal infection, osteoporosis, spine fractures.
Pain management: Injections and facet denervation for spinal pain.
Facial pain management.

Ms. Cruickshank adopts open and state-of-the-art minimally invasive approaches to deliver the best treatment option for each patient. She collaborates with specialists globally and with international hospitals to provide personalised care for patients worldwide.

Ms. Cruickshank is the first female Neurosurgery and Spinal Consultant in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also the first surgeon to hold both the FRCS Neurosurgery and DM Neurosurgery degrees. Ms. Cruickshank earned her medical degree from the University of the West Indies St. Augustine and completed neurosurgical residency at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Her experience includes subspecialty neurosurgical training and a highly specialised Complex Spine Fellowship at the prestigious National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (Queen Square) under the guidance of Mr Adrian Casey.

Ms. Cruickshank’s publications are intricately tied to improving lives through spinal localisation techniques, spinal tumours (glial spinal tumours, intramedullary spinal tumours) and advanced surgical techniques. She has presented at international congresses in the Caribbean, USA, UK, Europe and Africa.

EDUCATION

Doctor of Medicine (DM) in Neurosurgery, The University of the West Indies, Mona 2023
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Neurosurgery (FRCS (SN)), England 2022
Complex Spine Fellowship, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, 2021 – 2022
Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh (MRCSED) 2016
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB., BS), The University of the West Indies St Augustine, 2013
Bachelor of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies St Augustine, 2011

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Royal College of Surgeons in England (Fellow)
Congress of Neurological Societies (CNS)
European Association of Neurological Societies (EANS)
Caribbean Neurological Association (CANS)
Caribbean College of Surgeons (CCOS)
Women in Neurosurgery (WIN)

CERTIFICATIONS

Date	Certification
2019/ 2016	Advanced trauma life support (ATLS)
2022/ 2020/ 2015	Basic life support (BLS)
2015	Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)

COURSES

Date	Title	Institution
Nov 2023	Espinea Endoscopic Spine Workshop	Karlsruhe, Germany
Feb 2023	Ottawa Neurosurgery Review Course	University of Ottawa
Jan 2023	Kranzler Chicago Review Course in Neurosurgery	University of Chicago
May 2022	Anterolateral approaches to the thoracolumbar spine	Stryker
May 2022	Controversies in Spine Surgery Didactic Training Programme, London	Globus
Mar 2023	Imperial Neurosurgery FRCS(SN) Examination Course	Charing Cross, UK
Feb 2022	Mentoring Skills Workshop	NHNN
Feb 2022	Lateral Skull base approaches	NHNN
Sept 2021	Neuroradiology in Neurosurgery Course
Sept 2021	Imperial Neurosurgery FRCS(SN) Examination Course	Charing Cross, UK
Sept 2021	Aberdeen FRCS preparation course	Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Jun 2021	Queens Square Neurosurgery Review Course	NHNN
Jan 2021	Kranzler Chicago Review Course in Neurosurgery	University of Chicago
Mar 2020	White Fibre Dissection Course	NHNN
Apr 2019	Weill Cornell Complex Approaches in Neurosurgery, Palm Beach	Weill Cornell Medical Centre
Feb 2019	Ottawa Neurosurgery Review Course	University of Ottawa
Dec 2018	New York Weill Cornell Medical Center Complex Surgical Approaches to the Skull base	Weill Cornell Medical Centre
Mar 2016	Intercollegiate Basic Surgical Skills Course	Royal College of Surgeons, England
Mar 2011	Microbiology Workshop	CASMET

CASMET: Caribbean Association of the Medical Technologies For Laboratory Professionals

NHNN: National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

BOOK CHAPTERS

Clinical Negligence 6^thedition, 2023: Chapter on spinal surgery co-authored with Mr Adrian Casey. Powers and Barton.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

· A modified vertebroplasty technique for intraoperative thoracic spine localisation: a technical report. Cruickshank RR, Russo VM, Russo A. British Journal of Neurosurgery. 2023 Jan 11:1-5.

· Colorectal neoplasms in an afro-centric population: Histology, distribution and clinical significance. Cruickshank RR, Duncan A, Plummer JM. Journal of the Caribbean College of Surgeons 2018;2

· Effects of Jasminum multiflorum leaf extract on rodent models of epilepsy, motor coordination and anxiety. Addae JI, Pingal R, Walkins K, Cruickshank R, Youssef FF, Nayak SB. Epilepsy Research. 2017 Mar 1;131:58-63.

· Rapidly Progressing De Novo Arachnoid Cyst in an Adult Patient. Alhadid K, Cruickshank RR, Mikulis DJ, Valiante TA. University of Toronto Medical Journal. 2014 Dec 1;92(1).

· Effects of ethylenediamine in rodent models of seizure, motor coordination and anxiety. Addae JI, Walkins K, Cruickshank R, Stone TW. Brain research. 2012 Sep 14;1473:155-60.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Date	Presentation Title	Association
Dec 2023	Back pain (CME Talk)	MBTT, Tobago Branch
Dec 2023	Paediatric Posterior Fossa Tumours: A Clinicopathological Study	World Federation of Neurological Societies (WFNS), South Africa
Sept 2022	Giant ependymomas of the lumbosacral spine: A case series	Society of British Neurological Surgeons, Blackpool
Jun 2022	Intraoperative Foot Dorsiflexion Technique to Visualise the Lower Cervical Spine: A series of 25 cases	Cervical Spine Research Society (Europe), Barcelona
May 2019	A multicentre clinicopathological review of paediatric posterior fossa tumours in Jamaica over eighteen years	Association of Surgeons in Jamaica (ASJ), Jamaica
Feb 2019	Pituitary Apoplexy: A Clinicopathological Study over 19 years in a developing country	Caribbean Neuroscience Symposium (CANS), Jamaica
Feb 2019	Paediatric Posterior Fossa Tumours: A Clinicopathological Study of 31 Cases	Caribbean Neuroscience Symposium (CANS), Jamaica
Oct 2018	CT Evaluation of C2 Anatomy For Feasibility Of Translaminar Screw Placement In An Afrocentric Population	Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Texas
Jun 2018	Colorectal Neoplasms in an Afrocentric Population: Histology, Distribution and Clinical Significance	Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), St Kitts and Nevis
Jun 2018	Colorectal Neoplasms in an Afrocentric Population: Histology, Distribution and Clinical Significance	Caribbean College of Surgeons (CCOS), St Kitts and Nevis
Nov 2016	Renal Medullary Carcinoma in Jamaica	Caribbean Urological Association, Jamaica
Feb 2016	Anterior vs Posterior cervical fixation for traumatic injuries to the subaxial cervical spine	Caribbean Neuroscience Symposium (CANS), Jamaica
Jun 2015	Upper Cervical Spine Injuries	Trinidad and Tobago-China Neuroscience Health Conference
Jul 2014	Decreasing Sickle Cell Disease Mortality at the General Hospital, Port of Spain	Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association’s (T&TMA) Medical Research Conference

Physicians