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I am a fairly recent subscriber to the PD list but have followed all messages with interest. I am most impressed by the amount and quality of the knowledge that is shown in so many of the messages. There are few neurologists and fewer doctors who have such a depth of information about PD. However there is one area where I believe there is a serious and important gap in our knowledge and that is in regard to the indications and contra-indications for surgery. Everyone will agree that there has been a bombshell explosion in regard to the surgical treatment of PD but I wonder how many of us know when surgery is indicated and will help. Also when it is NOT indicated and may do more harm than good. This is an area that I am particularly interested in and wonder if others feel that an effort to improve our knowledgge on this aspect of the problem would be worth while. What I propose doing is to prepare a letter that would be sent to as many surgeons as possible that we can discover who are doing this form of surgery. This letter would ask them to let us know what their criteria are for operating or not doing so. This would include such questions as the patients age, mental status, tremors, spasticity, speech difficulty and anything else that you would suggest prior to finalizing the letter. A draft would be put out for your comments - I want to include as much as possible that may be of value to us all. What would YOU want to ask about? All those interested would be asked to forward to me the names and Snail addresses of any surgeons or departments they know of that are doing any surgery on PD. There are many that I do not know of and I believe that, with your help, this letter could be sent to a sufficiently large and comprehensive group to be of real value to us. The ultimate decision as to whether surgery is done or not is one that should and must be made BY THE PATIENT (That's you!) and NOT by the doctor. Before making a decision like that I would want to have a very complete picture of all the pro's and con's. If there seems to be an interest in this proposal I will keep you all informed. If not then I will go it alone as best I can and eventually let you have my findings. Greetings to all. John Park