SRS.ORG

President's Message

Muharrem Yazici, MD
SRS President 2020-2021

After the depressing email pieces that we have published one after the other throughout the year, I want to greet you with much more pleasant and positive news.

Inside this Issue

Historian Corner
Ethics Corner
In Memoriam
IMAST Committee Update
Patient Education Committee Update
Podcast Task Force Update
Program Committee Update
Fellowship Committee Update
Nominating Committee Update
CME Committee Update
Bylaws & Policy Committee Update
Patient Focus Task Force Update
SRS-COSSCO Update
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Hot Topic Articles

Fellowship Committee Update
Patient Education Committee Update
SRS-COSSCO Update

Historian Corner

Jay Shapiro, MD
SRS Historian Elect

In the near future the Historical Committee will be asking members for help in continuing to build and expand the historical timeline. Please think about getting involved to help preserve and remember our history and advancements that we all use every day to help our patients.

Ethics Corner

Joseph F. Baker, MD
Ethics & Professionalism Committee Member

Resource Constraint and Provision of Spine Care

In New Zealand healthcare is delivered largely by a universal healthcare system with only a very small proportion of patients holding private health insurance. The public hospital system is comprised of regional ‘District Health Boards’ that are funded by the tax payer and provide health care for their local population.

In Memoriam

Wilton H. Bunch, MD January 12, 1935 - May 16, 2021	Richard E. Lindseth, MD April 3, 1935 - May 4, 2021
Frank McManus, FRCSI Date of Death: October 15, 2020	Gianluigi Siccardi, MD July 29, 1953 - March 21, 2021

IMAST Committee Update

David L. Skaggs, MD, MMM
IMAST Committee Chair

Make room in your schedule to review the recorded sessions, abstracts, e-posters, and company workshops before the course closes at the end of June. This meeting offers timely education on innovation in spine deformity, CME credits, and a count toward SRS Membership meeting requirements.

Patient Education Committee Update

Joseph P. Davey, MD
Patient Education Committee Chair

Our committee has been very busy this year! Not long after our Annual Meeting, a social media protest, #NotDeformed, was led to protest the SRS frequent use of the term “deformity” on our website and in our patient education materials. SRS leadership agreed that we should try to remove the term from our content as much as possible.

Podcast Task Force Update

Ron El-Hawary, MD
Podcast Task Force Co-Chair

The mission of the SRS Podcast Task Force is to deliver the most current and trusted information to clinicians that care for patients with scoliosis. It aims to provide up-to-date, quality information that will impact the daily practice of scoliosis treatment. The task force worked tirelessly through 2019-2020 with a goal of hosting the first podcast by September 2020.

Program Committee Update

Michael P. Kelly, MD
Program Committee Chair

The Program Committee looks forward to a return of the “in-person” meeting at the 56^th Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO, USA. The SRS received nearly 1,000 excellent abstracts despite the challenges faced in our clinical and academic endeavors during the worldwide pandemic.

Fellowship Committee Update

Jeffrey D. Coe, MD
Fellowship Committee Chair

The Fellowship Committee has completed the first of two rounds of new membership application reviews for the current cycle. The below-listed individuals have had their applications vetted by the Committee and subsequently approved for membership in the Society by the SRS Board of Directors & Presidential Line.

Nominating Committee Update

Paul D. Sponseller, MD, MBA
Nominating Committee Chair

The nominating committee is tasked with evaluating nominated candidates for elected positions within the society. This year in addition to the Vice President and 3 Director at Large positions, a Treasurer Elect and Education Council Chair Elect are also being chosen.

CME Committee Update

Steven W. Hwang, MD
CME Committee Chair

The CME committee has continued to work consistently throughout the year ensuring SRS sponsored content meets the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) standards. CME committee members have diligently reviewed content prior to presentation and also performed post-hoc reviews to ensure that presented content is scientifically sound and unbiased, thus providing membership with updates on recent innovation while balancing scientific rigor.

Bylaws & Policies Committee Update

J. Michael Wattenbarger, MD
Bylaws & Policies Committee Chair

The Bylaws & Policies Committee has had the chance to review two changes to date. The Organizational Structure Task Force has recommended the addition of a Communication Council Chair position to the Board of Directors. The committee has also reviewed policy change suggestions regarding meeting site selection from the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Task Force which was approved by the Board of Directors.

Patient Focus Task Force Update

Noelle Larson, MD
Patient Focus Task Force Chair

The SRS Patient Focus Task Force has taken inventory of the currently available social media content regarding scoliosis care. Task force members and patient partners have reviewed SRS content including the website, patient education materials, and patient stories.

SRS-COSSCO Update

Steven D. Glassman, MD

In 2016 the SRS research grant committee awarded funding to a project designed to establish a unified framework for the evaluation of adult spinal deformity surgery. As the prevalence of surgical treatment for adult spinal deformity has increased around the world, common outcome metrics are necessary to facilitate useful evaluation across a wide range of surgical treatment strategies.

2021 Corporate Supporters

We are pleased to acknowledge and thank those companies that provided financial support to SRS in 2021.

June 2021

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IMAST Committee Update

David L. Skaggs, MD, MMM
IMAST Committee Chair

Make room in your schedule to review the recorded sessions, abstracts, e-posters, and company workshops before the course closes at the end of June. This meeting offers timely education on innovation in spine deformity, CME credits, and a count toward SRS Membership meeting requirements.

For a special spotlight on the Whitecloud winning paper, “The Harms Study Group Retrospective Comparison Study on Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering (AVBT) versus Posterior Spinal Fusion (PSF) for Primary Thoracic Curves,” check out the Scoliosis Dialogues: An SRS Podcast interview with author-presenter, Peter Newton, MD. The paper reported in every area in which a significant difference was found between a spine fusion and tether, the spine fusion had superior outcomes, including post-operative patient self-image.

We saw consistent attendance with learners joining from all over the world for the 28^th IMAST during the live weekend. On average, there were about 85 live views of the 13 sessions with view rates continuing to rise with the on-demand option still available. Overall, there were about 450 registrants to this year’s meeting which is about 1/3 of the total in 2020 (keep in mind 2020 was free.) Of the 450 registrants, 92% are physicians/allied health/researchers/students/other with the other 8% is industry.

The IMAST Committee is currently accepting proposals for education sessions (ICL, Debate, Panel, Etc.) for the 29^th IMAST scheduled for April 6-9, 2022 in Miami, USA. Proposals must focus on innovation and cutting-edge technology.

Chair: David L. Skaggs Committee: Han Jo Kim, Past Chair; Rick C. Sasso; Burt Yaszay; Juan S. Uribe; Ahmet Alanay, Chair Elect; Ilkka J. Helenius; Eric O. Klineberg; Tyler Koski; Brian Hsu; Jean-Charles Le Huec; Stefan Parent, Vice Chair; Per D. Trobisch