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. COVID precautions required some shortening of the program, with 128 Abstracts selected for podium presentation. The lessons learned from the 55^th Annual Meeting chaired by Lindsay Andras, MD led to two pre-recorded, self-paced sessions. One is focused on abstracts regarding the care of spinal deformity patients during the pandemic. The second centers on emerging machine-learning and artificial intelligence-based approaches to research and clinical care. The review section leaders were critical when choosing 13 Hibbs Clinical and Basic Science/Translational Award Nominees. We have lengthened the Hibbs session to ensure adequate discussion of these abstracts.

The Education Committee has planned a Pre-Meeting Course entitled “Spine is Just the Tip of the Iceberg: Comprehensive Management of the Patient with Spine Deformity and Surgeon” where we will engage non-surgical colleagues to discuss comprehensive care of complex pediatric and adult patients. The Half Day Course and Lunchtime Symposia will deal with topics ranging from complication avoidance in adult deformity, to non-fusion pediatric technologies, and coping with major complications. An early career session will engage younger, potential future SRS members while a joint Lunchtime Symposium with the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons will continue to bridge our societies.

We look forward to seeing you in-person for this meeting. In addition to the agenda, the area offers golf, fishing, and hiking opportunities. There are great food and museums in St. Louis as well, offering something for everyone. If you cannot attend in person, please join us through virtual attendance. The moderators will be asking questions on behalf of those not in attendance so that we can optimize the meeting and education for surgeons worldwide.

 

Chair: Michael P. Kelly Committee: Lindsay M. Andras, Past Chair; Amer F. Samdani; Sebastien Charosky; Jeffrey L. Gum (C); Sebastien Pesenti (C); Deniz Konya (C); Vidyadhar V. Upasani (C); Khaled M. Kebaish; Joseph H. Perra; Shay Bess, Chair Elect; Steven Hwang, CME; Michael C. Albert; David E. Lebel; Amy McIntosh