SRS.ORG

President's Message

Paul D. Sponseller, MD, MBA
SRS President 2019-2020

What a year! I trust that you were able to learn much from the SRS Pre-Meeting Course and Annual Meeting last week. If there is a positive to this format, it could be your ability to target more precisely the information that you want to learn. I would like to tell all members how resourceful your SRS staff has been in pivoting to this new format with no loss of information.

Inside this Issue

In Memoriam
Historian Corner
Ethics Corner
Nominating Committee Update
2020-2021 Committee Leadership
Research Promotion & Oversight Committee Update
Bylaws & Policy Committee Update
Development Committee Update
Adult Deformity Committee Update
Corporate Relations Committee Update
Communications Committee Update
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Hot Topic Articles

2020-2021 Committee Leadership
Corporate Relations Committee Update
Development Committee Update
SRS at EUROSPINE 2020 | Tuesday, October 6, 2020 »

In Memoriam

Stanley Hoppenfeld, MD
July 31, 1934 - May 15, 2020

John M. Roberts, MD
February 27, 1932 - August 8, 2020

Access online content through December 31, 2020.

Historian Corner

George H. Thompson, MD
SRS Historian

Did you know that 60 years ago…
The first major podium presentation by Dr. Paul Harrington describing his new operation for the treatment of scoliosis was made in June 1960 at the America Orthopaedic Association meeting in Hot Springs, Virginia.

And 40 years ago…
The first SRS research grant was awarded to Dr. Morey S. Moreland for his project on three dimensional shape and measurement in scoliosis.

Ethics Corner

Gary Fleischer, MD
Ethics & Professionalism Committee Member

Worker's Compensation

Scenario 1:
Dr. Jones is engaged by a Worker’s Compensation insurance carrier to perform an Independent Medical Examination on Mrs. Smith for a presumably work-related injury.
Scenario 2:
Dr. Jones is reviewing another case for a different Worker’s Compensation carrier. In this case, Mr. Brown is being evaluated for a proposed lumbar fusion after sustaining a fall resulting in a spondylolysis that has failed nonoperative management.

Nominating Committee Update

Peter O. Newton, MD
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 Board of director at large positions, a secretary elect and research council chair elect are also being chosen.

2020-2021 Committee Leadership

Congratulations and a warm welcome to the following SRS members on their appointments as Committee Chairs for 2020-2021.

Research Promotion & Oversight Committee Update

Douglas C. Burton, MD
Research Promotion & Oversight Committee Chair

One of the outcomes of the Research Task Force led by Research Council Chair Marinus de Kleuver was the creation of a new committee, the Research Promotion and Oversight Committee. As the name indicates, this committee has the dual charge to promote SRS funded research inside and outside of the society and to oversee the progress and reporting of our funded studies.

Bylaws & Policies Committee Update

J. Michael Wattenbarger, MD
Bylaws & Policies Committee Chair

Over the course of the last several months, an in depth review of the SRS Policy Manual was completed. As our Society has continued to evolve, so do the policies that govern the work that we do.

Development Committee Update

Khaled M. Kebaish, MD
Development Committee Chair

As with many things, COVID-19 has affected charitable donations to SRS. Our year to date donations are not quite matching what we have seen in past years. That being said, SRS tends to see a surge in donations the final months of the year, and we are hopeful that this with hold true in 2020 as well. If you would like to support SRS through a charitable donation, please visit www.srs.org/donate.

Adult Deformity Committee Update

Eric O. Klineberg, MD
Adult Deformity Committee Chair

The Adult Deformity Committee had another productive year. We remained committed to our charges from the Presidential Line; including generating educational content, determine educational gaps, and generating website content. Obviously the COVID-19 pandemic has made our work challenging, and our committee members have been responsible for their local health response beyond the spine domain.

Corporate Relations Committee Update

Peter O. Newton, MD
Corporate Relations Committee Chair

This committee works with our corporate partners to identify areas of mutual interest that benefits the mission of the SRS with regards to education and research to advance spinal deformity care for our patients.

Communications Committee Update

Yan Wang, MD
Communications Committee Chair

The Communications Committee has been active. As part of the SRS Research Task Force’s innovative dissemination of SRS Research initiative, the creation of SRS Podcasts was approved earlier this year. The SRS Board endorsed podcasts that are similar to the webinars and social media efforts that would allow for expansion of ideas presented.

September 2020

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Historian Corner

George H. Thompson, MD
SRS Historian

Did you know that 60 years ago…

The first major podium presentation by Dr. Paul Harrington describing his new operation for the treatment of scoliosis was made in June 1960 at the America Orthopaedic Association meeting in Hot Springs, Virginia. Although met with skepticism by many Orthopaedic Surgeons, public recognition of the importance of Harrington’s contribution is reflected in an article published in Time Magazine a few months later. In the June 1962 volume of JBJS, Harrington published the results of his surgical technique in the first 133 patients whom he treated. In 1963, Dr. John Moe presented his validation of 66 prospectively collected patients treated by Harrington’s method with favorable results. Within the next few years Harrington’s method was acknowledged as superior to fusion without instrumentation by many of the contemporary leaders in the field of scoliosis treatment because of reduced rates of pseudarthrosis and improved early mobilization as well as lower reoperation rate. Harrington Instrumentation became the standard of care in the treatment of scoliosis and other disorders requiring spinal stabilization. The wide acceptance of Harrington’s operation paved the way for future development of methods of internal fixation of the spine.

To learn more about the myriad of spine and SRS related topics dating back to 1911 please visit our Historical Timeline page.

And 40 years ago…

The first SRS research grant was awarded to Dr. Morey S. Moreland for his project on three dimensional shape and measurement in scoliosis.

Since that time SRS has provided more than $5.4 million in funding for 178 spinal deformity research projects from the institutions all over the world.

For more information, please visit our Research Grants page.

Chair: George H. Thompson Committee: Andrew G. King; Acke Ohlin (E); Jeffrey P. Mullin (C); Jonathan N. Sembrano (C); Alexander A. Theologis (C); Patricia N. Kostial (A); Matthew J. Mermer; Behrooz A. Akbarnia (E); Richard M. Schwend; Jay Shapiro, Historian Elect