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President’s Message
Hot Topic Articles
In Memoriam
- Bianco
Pat on the Back
Historical Committee Update
Research Grant Committee Update
Ethics Corner
Long Range Planning Committee Update
Risk Stratification Task Force Update
Coding Corner
Website Committee Update
Safety and Value Committee Update
Global Outreach Committee Update
Evidence Based Outcomes Task Force Update
3D Scoliosis Committee Update
E-Text Committee Update
Save the Date for 2016 SRS Meetings

President's Message

SRS continues to be very busy. We have just finished abstract submissions and had 1,541 successful submissions; one of the largest within the past years. Thank you to everyone who submitted research; it is what makes our IMAST and Annual Meeting & Course superb.

Hot Topics Articles

In Memoriam

Anthony J. Bianco, Jr. MD

Pat on the Back

The Communications Committee would like to highlight the accomplishments of SRS members in the newsletter. We invite all SRS members to submit details (with photos if applicable) of your honors, awards, special activities or other efforts in which you have been involved in, to [email protected].

Historical Committee Update

George H. Thompson, MD
SRS Historian

2015 ended with the wonderful celebration of the Scoliosis Research Society’s 50^th Annual Meeting & Course, September 30 – October 3 in Minneapolis, MN. During the meeting, there were several major events organized by the Historical Committee. Most notably, the 50^th Anniversary Museum and the Living Legends sessions.

Research Grant Committee Update

Michael K. Rosner, MD
Research Grant Committee Chair

Research and Education remains the principle lifeline of our Society. The Research Grant Committee received a record number of grant applications in the fall cycle (October 1, 2015). Thirty-five grant applications were reviewed and considered for funding. The research committee consists of 26 members who each reviewed approximately 10-11 grants for a designated team.

Ethics Corner

Kamal Ibrahim, MD, FRCS(C), MA
Ethics and Professionalism Committee Chair

Dear SRS members,

The Ethics and Professionalism Committee will continue to publish potential ethical problems and conflicts in the newsletter and ask for the members’ input. Therefore, the Committee encourages members to submit to the committee any ethical conflicts they may face for further discussion.

Long Range Planning Committee Update

John P. Dormans, MD, FACS
Long Range Planning Committee Chair

The Long Range Planning Committee has been tasked to pick both the 2019 and 2020 Annual Meeting & Course and IMAST venue locations. As per the international vs. North American rotation of meeting sites, the 2019 Annual Meeting will be located in North America, and 2019 IMAST will be located internationally.

Risk Stratification Task Force Update

Steven D. Glassman, MD
Directed Research Task Force Chair

What is Risk Stratification?

Risk stratification is the use of evidence to assist in predicting unfavorable outcome and complications. In essence, it is an effort to quantify the evaluation process that surgeon’s undertake every time they look at a patient and recommend surgical treatment.

Coding Corner: Are Current Spinal Fusion Hospital Payment Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGS) Adequate?

S. Samuel Bederman, MD, PhD, FRCSC and David J. Wright M.Sc.

The SRS Coding Committee, with permission from the Presidential Line, agreed to support an investigation into variation in hospital costs within spinal fusion payment groups to determine whether hospitals are bearing undue financial burden, thus disincentivizing surgeons from performing these important procedures. We report our initial findings from this study.

Website Committee Update

Ron El-Hawary, MD, MSc, FRCS(C)
Website Committee Chair

The new SRS website was launched in September 2015 in conjunction with the 50^th Anniversary Meeting of our Society. Overall, this tremendous undertaking was a very positive experience and I would like to thank the Website Task Force, .orgSource, EDI, and SRS Staff (in particular Shahree Douglas and Ann Shay). As well, we certainly appreciate the guidance and support from the SRS Board, including John Dormans, MD and Daniel Sucato, MD, MS to ensure that a high quality website could be achieved.

Safety and Value Committee Update

Suken A. Shah, MD
Safety and Value Committee Chair

The Safety and Value Committee continues to work on ways to bring safety and value initiatives to our membership and keep folks aware of developments in this constantly changing landscape. In order to make spinal deformity surgery sustainable, we need to demonstrate that what we do improves quality of life and can be done reproducibly, safely and cost-effectively.

Global Outreach Committee Update

Ferran Pellisé Urquiza, MD, PhD
Global Outreach Committee Chair

The Global Outreach Committee has defined three main priorities and is working hard to reach the established goals by the end of the year. Following efforts undertaken in previous years, a “GOP Road Map,” describing the transition between SRS-GOP candidate site and SRS-GOP self-sufficient site, is being defined.

Evidence Based Outcomes Task Force Update

Douglas C. Burton, MD
Evidence Based Outcomes Task Force Chair

The Evidence Based Outcomes Task Force has been busy this past year working on a Systematic Review (SR) of pediatric spondylolisthesis. This project is a follow-up to the SR done by the previous committee on pediatric spondylolysis.

3D Scoliosis Task Force Update

Carl-Eric Aubin, PhD, P.Eng
3D Scoliosis Task Force Chair

The 3D Scoliosis Task Force is continuing its main mandate of developing a 3D classification and surgical approach of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, of promoting 3D analysis of scoliosis and of demonstrating the value of using 3D concepts.

E-Text Committee Update

John C. France, MD
E-Text Committee Chair

E-Text is now available in an iBook format and can be downloaded from the SRS website onto any Apple device for $29.99 USD. It will also remain available through the website and is available to nonmembers as well as members for viewing purposes. It is a great tool for resident and fellow education on spinal deformity and I would encourage programs to incorporate it into their spinal education curriculum.

Save the Dates for 2016 SRS Meetings!

To view future SRS meetings and other spine associations and societies' meeting, visit http://www.srs.org/professionals/conferences-and-meetings/calendar

Mark your calendars for the following future meetings:

March 2016

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Risk Stratification Task Force Update

Steven D. Glassman, MD
Directed Research Task Force Chair

What is Risk Stratification?

Risk stratification is the use of evidence to assist in predicting unfavorable outcome and complications. In essence, it is an effort to quantify the evaluation process that surgeon’s undertake every time they look at a patient and recommend surgical treatment. Where risk stratification has been done most effectively, whether in healthcare or elsewhere, the common thread is adequate reliable data. As an example, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has built an online risk calculator through the NSQIP database, which includes granular data on over a million patients.

Why should the SRS pursue Risk Stratification?

Spinal deformity surgery is complex and often represents a high risk/high reward proposition. Despite our perception that spine deformity surgery is unique in terms of both patient characteristics and surgical intensity, there is limited data validating which exact aspects drive risk. Quantifying predictors of complications and outcomes may facilitate better surgical decision making. This may also help level the playing field as surgeons are graded based upon surgical outcomes or complications. Certainly, one could not expect equivalent results in the treatment of neuromuscular scoliosis versus adolescent idiopathic scoliosis or young adults with coronal deformities compared to elderly patients with substantial sagittal plane deformity.

How is the SRS supporting this effort?

The SRS recognizes the importance of risk stratification from both a patient care and an access to care standpoint. Our goal is firstly to educate the membership regarding the rationale, methodology and impact of risk stratification efforts. At the same time, the SRS is actively supporting a broad research strategy examining risk stratification for spinal deformity. One element is a SRS directed project building a modified consensus model to identify critical components for subsequent risk stratification processes. In addition, the SRS has provided the Research Grant Committee with $150,000 additional funding for meritorious submissions related to the overall risk stratification research effort. We strongly encourage SRS members with research interests in the area of risk stratification to pursue this funding opportunity.