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I N M EMORIAM
Remembering
Lyal G. Leibrock, MD
JAMES R. BEAN,MD
At the passing of Lyal G. Leibrock, MD, we all lost
a dear friend, a wise and humorous companion,
and an intrepid and dearly loved fellow-traveler
on the highway of neurosurgery.
We will miss him, with his unfeigned modesty,
his too little acknowledged distinction, and his
understated leadership. He devoted his life to his
profession, even to this bitter and untimely end.
He was instrumental in bringing the Council
of State Neurosurgical Societies to the position of
influence and respectability in neurosurgery that
it now enjoys. His guidance and enthusiasm are
unmatchable and irreplaceable.
He worked until his will no longer trumped
his illness, enduring his trial without complaint.
This expected news brings unaccustomed sorrow.
We see death often, but rarely does it touch our
lives so deeply. We mourn his passing.
Dr. Leibrock died Sunday, Nov. 13, of metastatic
colon cancer. He is survived by his wife, Judi,
children Michele, Elizabeth and Christopher, and
a granddaughter, Olivia.
Biography
For 27 years, Lyal G. Leibrock, MD, was an active
participant in the Department of Surgery at the
University of Nebraska Medical Center, most
www.aans.org/membership/totalchart.asp and at
www.TotalChart.com, (888) 220-1050.
AMA Says P4P Programs Must Be Fair and Ethical At its
semiannual policymaking meeting in November, the
American Medical Association voted to oppose
Medicare pay-for-performance initiatives (such as
“value-based purchasing programs”) that do not
meet the AMA’s Principles and Guidelines for Payfor-Performance.“The
AMA today sends a clear message
that pay-for-performance must be focused on
quality and be patient-centered, fair and ethical,” said
AMA Trustee John Armstrong, MD. The five AMA
principles for fair and ethical pay-for-performance
programs are: ensure quality of care; foster the
recently as professor and
department chair. When a
neurosurgery training program
was approved at UNMC
in July 1993, Dr. Leibrock
served as its program director.
Dr. Leibrock had an interest
in pain, skull base, and
spinal surgery. He was a visiting
professor at many universities in the United States
as well as Shiraz University in Shiraz, Iran, and the
China/Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, China. He
was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a
member of the Society for Neurological Surgeons as
well as the American Association of Neurological Surgeons
and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons for
which he served on numerous committees, and a
founding member of the North American Skull Base
Society. He participated in the Council of State Neurosurgical
Societies for more than a decade, serving as
chair from 1999 to 2001. The CSNS recently honored
him with the Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Leibrock was born in Alma, Kan., Nov. 20,
1940, and raised in California, where he graduated
from the University of Southern California School of
Medicine. Dr. Leibrock performed a surgical internship
at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center
from 1969 to 1970. He completed his neurosurgical
training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the summer of
1976 under the direction of A.E. Walker, MD, and
Donlin Long, MD, and he then served two years on
active duty at the Naval Regional Medical Center,
Oakland, Calif. 3
patient-physician relationship; offer voluntary physician
participation; use accurate data and fair reporting;
and provide fair and equitable program incentives.
Additional information is available at
www.ama-assn.org.
2006 NASS Research Grant and Fellowship Applications
Due May 5 The North American Spine Society is
offering research grants for investigative research on
the spine, as well as a clinical traveling fellowship and
a research traveling fellowship. The application deadline
is May 5. Additional information and an application
are available at www.spine.org/Research/
ResearchProgram.cfm.
S. Napoleon Martinez, MD
1962, Canada
Luciano M. Modesti, MD
1972, New York
Juan Negrin Jr., MD
1952, New York
Helge Nornes, MD
1976, Norway
Jorge Rene Ordonez, MD
1979, Maryland
Richard G. Perrin, MD
1998, Ontario
Richard Henry Retter, MD
1958, Ohio
Charles W. Rossel, MD
1967, Ohio
William A. Rouady, MD
1978, Virginia
John Albert Savoy, MD
1976, Maine
James F. Sheridan, MD
1973, Ohio
Richard B. Small, MD
1983, California
Donald Leon Stainsby, MD
1960, Washington
Gordon J. Strewler, MD
1957, North Carolina
Fred N. Sugar, MD
1976, Colorado
Jean Talairach, MD
1970, France
John L. K. Tsang, MD
1955, Nevada
Andrew F. Venditti, PA-C
2001, Indiana
Jody M. Wellwood, MSN,
ACNP
2002, Michigan
Walter R. Whitehurst, MD
1967, Florida
Stuart R. Winston, MD
1977, Arizona
Luis Yarzagaray, MD
1975, Columbia
John C. Zahniser, MD
1982, California
David S. Zealear, MD
1955, California
Leonard L. Zinker, MD
1962, Florida
Volume 14, Number 4 • AANS Bulletin 49