After breaking fast with the array of fine dishes served to attendees, the first session of ISASS17 Day 2 began. Dr. Ricardo Fontes and Dr. Hanjo Kim moderated the first Adult Spinal Deformity session. Past ISASS President Dr. Luiz Pimenta presented a novel iPhone app that uses the phone’s internal accelerometer to measure sagittal parameters; Jessica Andrés-Bergós suggested that under-correction of sagittal deformities leads to worse QOL outcomes while overcorrection doesn’t seem to; and from Dr. Ram Haddas we were again given a reminder of the importance of psychological factors in surgery.

Following a hearty discussion rich with thoughtful questions and answers, Dr. Hee Kit Wong reflected on his year as President of ISASS for 2016-2017, before bringing to the stage Dr. Kandiah Satkunanantham, the Director of Medical Services at Singapore’s Ministry of Health. Prof. Satkunananatham expounded on the Singapore perspective of medicine to the delight of a healthy crowd.

Photo: ISASS Presidential Guest Speaker Professor Kandiah Satkunanantham and ISASS President Hee Kit Wong.

A quick break in the Exhibit Hall later, Dr. Steven Ludwig and Dr. Yu-Po Lee moderated an informative session on tumor, trauma, and infection. Questions about whether standard surgical prep is sufficient were raised by Christina Dowe; a prospective and multicenter deep-dive into balloon kyphoplasty by Dr. Melissa Chambers; and thorough examination of the incidence and epidemiology of cervical epidural abscesses; and the proposal of an “Intrusiveness Index” for the extent of surgery for metastatic spine diseases from Prof. Naresh Kumar of Singapore.

After lunch, attendees were treated to the second symposium featuring thought leaders on Adult Spinal Deformity like Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi, Dr. Choll Kim, Dr. Mark Kurd, Dr. Greg Lopez, and Virginie LaFage, as moderated by Past President Luiz Pimenta.

Dr. Neel Anand and Dr. Alex Vacarro headed up the Values and Outcomes in Spine Surgery session, rife with resource utilization analyses, reimbursement discussions, bundling, decreasing lifetime costs of individual surgeries, and maximizing operating room efficiency. There was not a single presentation in this session worth missing for a spine surgeon in these value-conscious times.

Dr. Hee Kit Wong stepped into his new role as Past President and handed the torch off to Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein. Congratulations to you both and our thanks! Afterward, the crowd was treated to a spirited update on what’s shaking in spine by perennial favorite Robin Young.

At the awards ceremony, the new Distinguished Service Award was presented for the first time:

Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Gunnar Andersson
Distinguished Service Award

Presented to: Morgan Lorio, MD

We had two awards for Best Overall Paper at ISASS17:

Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Hansen Yuan
Best Overall Paper, The ISASS Leon Wiltse Award

#443: Use of Intraoperative Traction in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Impact on Concave Apical Screws Density, Curve Correction and Functional Outcomes
Presenting Author: Pramod Sudarshan

#509: The Temporal Expression of Adipokines during Spinal Fusion
Presenting Author: Sohrab Virk

Best Clinical Paper, The Charles D. Ray Award

#390: Radiographic Adjacent Segment Pathology Following Treatment with TDR or ACDF at One or Two Levels: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled FDA Clinical Trial at Seven Years
Presenting Author: Pierce Nunley

Best Basic Science Paper

#571: Variations among Human Spine Segments and their Relationships to in vitro Kinematics: A Retrospective Analysis of Experimental Data Including 282 Lumbar Motion Segments from 85 Donor Spines
Presenting Author: Anna Newcomb

Best Poster

#179: Inpatient Pain Scores and Narcotic Utilization Based on American Society of Anesthesiologists Score after Cervical and Lumbar Spinal Fusion
Presenting Author: Ankur Narain

Sponsored by Tom Errico, MD
Kostiuk Innovation Award

#581: Principal Radiographic Characteristics for Cervical Spinal Deformity: A Health-related Quality of Life Analysis
Presenting Author: Daniel Stein

Photo: ISASS17 Awards Ceremony, presenters and award winners.

Attendees with a love of grains, distillery, and white oak casks had a chance to study up on the subject of whiskey at a whiskey-tasting event and presentation with a representative from Jack Daniels! You could say it, ahem, raised the audience’s spirits.

Later on in the day came a general session on Lumbar Motion Preservation, headed up by Dr. Jack Zigler and Dr. Luiz Pimenta. Presentations in this session generally had a strong, strong follow-up: most were 5 year results while one study had up to 10. Authors came from Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg (an ISASS first?), South Africa, and the US. Lessons to be learned from all corners of the globe here!

Dr. Anthony Yeung and Dr. Choll Kim wound down the day with a symposium on MIS endoscopic surgery with panel presentations from Dr. Kim & Dr. Yeung, Dr. Chris Yeung, Dr. Chris Hofstetter, Dr. Jim Yue, and Dr. Peter Shin and Dr. Evan Rivers.

Another fine day at ISASS17 and thankfully it’s not over yet! Tune in tomorrow to catch up with the last day of the best conference.

Tomorrow at ISASS17 – Day 3

The ISASS17 Scientific Program concludes tomorrow. The third day includes the 5K Fun Run, multiple general sessions, symposia, cadaver lab lecture and the closing of ISASS17.

5K Fun Run to Benefit IASP
6:45 am – 7:45 am
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to raise funds for IASP during ISASS17! If you have not already registered for the 5K Fun Run, Register Now to Participate →

General Session: Thoraco-Lumbar Degenerative
8:00 am – 9:00 am
The first session of the scientific program for Friday is General Session: Thoraco-Lumbar Degenerative moderated by Gunnar B.J. Andersson, MD, PhD and Michael Gerling, MD. Twelve presentations are scheduled.

Symposium 4: Don’t believe the hype…
9:00 am – 10:00 am
The first symposium on Friday is Symposium 4: Don’t believe the hype moderated by Alexander Vaccaro, MD. Four topics will be examined.

Break on Exhibit Floor
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Visit ISASS17 Exhibits.

General Session: Cervical Degenerative
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
The second session of the scientific program is General Session: Cervical Degenerative moderated by Gunny Deol, MD and Kris Siemenow, MD. Fourteen presentations are scheduled.

General Session: ACSR at ISASS: Controversies in Spine Surgery
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
The afternoon begins with General Session: ACSR at ISASS: Controversies in Spine Surgery moderated by Mark Kurd, MD and Alexander Vaccaro, MD. Four presentations are scheduled.

General Session: Endoscopic Surgery
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The afternoon continues with General Session: Endoscopic Surgery moderated by Michael Wang, MD and Christopher Yeung, MD. Eleven presentations are scheduled.

General Session: Pediatric Spine
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The afternoon scientific program concludes with General Session: Pediatric Spine moderated by Joseph Zavatsky, MD and Tom Errico, MD. Ten presentations are scheduled.

Closing of ISASS17
3:00 pm – 3:15 pm
Closing of ISASS17.

Cadaver Lab Lecture
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Attendance is mandatory for participants in the ISASS17 Cadaver Lab. Co-Chairs: Rolando Garcia, MD, USA, Sheeraz Qureshi, MD, USA and Larry Khoo, MD, USA.

Thank you,

ISASS