President's Message
Paul D. Sponseller, MD, MBA
SRS President 2019-2020
As the days lengthen and Spring is around the corner, our Society is as active as ever. The newsletter is proof of this. I hope you can see for yourself all of the energy our members are contributing! I want to highlight and call your attention to a few things. The Ethics Committee has done a great job of using clinical situations to distill ethical/professional challenges we all face, and clarify the issues. Please spend some time reviewing their work. The Health Policy Committee has also helped champion our issues with pediatric and adult devices. The Safety and Value Committee is working hard on making practical and accessible checklists and other advances.
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Inside this Issue
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Hot Topic Articles
Education Committee Update
MAGEC Recall | March 6, 2020 Update
Worldwide Course Committee Update
SRS COVID-19 Online Message Board
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In Memoriam
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Ethics Corner
John P. Lubicky, MD, FAAOS, FAAP
Ethics & Professionalism Committee Member
TRIBULATIONS OF SELF REFERRAL:
Revisiting the Stark Laws and Professional Ethical Considerations
In the bygone days of medicine, physician advertising and entrepreneurship were foreign concepts to doctors in everyday practice. Doctors provided specific services and hospitals provided others. Dramatic changes in the cost of medical education, the evolution of healthcare systems, new technology, third party payers (private and government based), patient demand and other factors have changed the paradigm. New doctors faced significant medical school debt repayments, and often encountered healthcare facilities that could not, or would not, respond to their need to increase patient volume and efficiency that might have favorably impacted their incomes. Physicians soon realized that providing ancillary services via physician-owned facilities could address some of these concerns.
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Education Committee Update
Baron S. Lonner, MD
Education Committee Chair
I have the honor and privilege of assuming the Chairmanship of the Education Committee which is tasked with developing educational content for the annual meeting, webinars, and working with other committees including Worldwide Course, IMAST, and CME under the umbrella of the Education Council. The Education Committee has been hard at work vetting many high-level proposals that were submitted for the various educational venues.
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Global Outreach Committee Update
Kota Watanabe, MD, PhD
Global Outreach Committee Chair
The Global Outreach Committee serves as a networking community that provides a platform for exchanging ideas and strategies related to independent outreach programs. The committee also develops and disseminates educational materials to improve these programs. We encourage the active participation of experienced surgeons as well as those who have never experienced an outreach program but are interested in participating in future trips.
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Worldwide Course Committee Update
Saumyajit Basu, MD
Worldwide Course Committee Chair
The three main activities for the Worldwide Course committee are the traditional Worldwide Courses (WWC), the Current Concept in Spine Deformity Courses (CCSD) and the Spine Deformity Solutions: A Hands-On Course (SDS).
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Education Resource Committee Update
Teresa Bas, MD, PhD
Education Resource Committee Chair
The SRS Education Resources Committee, led by Teresa Bas and Ron El-Hawary, is continuing to review, revise and update the existing E-text chapters to ensure their educational integrity before incorporating them into new SRS 10 core curriculum’s domains.
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MAGEC Recall | March 24, 2020 Update
Robert H. Cho, MD, FAAOS
On February 13, 2020, NuVasive Inc. issued a voluntary recall of the MAGEC X magnetically controlled growing rod device (most recent model of MAGEC implants). The actuator end cap was noted to separate from the lengthening apparatus in approximately 0.5% of devices implanted. When this end cap dislodges from the lengthening mechanism, the internal threads become exposed to body fluids and may lead to extravasation of metallic wear debris. Because they could not determine the root cause of the end cap failure as a manufacturing or design issue, the MAGEC X devices were pulled off the market by NuVasive to further investigate and address the root cause of the issue.
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