AOSpine Newsletter
In this issue, we bring the most important news of the trimester that just passed and disclosure our main events and courses to the next trimester.
Annual Report
As a review of the past year, our Annual Report is a summary of all activities organized by AOSpine Latin America and it highlights the most significant accomplishments of the region. This publication illustrates all the different projects held in Education, Research, Fellowships & Spine Center, and Community Development. We developed a web-based report in order to facilitate the reading. To read it, please go to: aosla.com.br/report2018
Regional Courses Santiago 2019
The 4th edition of our Regional Courses will be at the Marriot Hotel in Santiago/CL, taking place from June 6-8, 2019. Some of the world’s leading spine experts will share their knowledge and experience in a comprehensive and highly interactive event. Save your place taking advantage of the early bird discount up to February 20th. AOSpine members receive an additional discount. Register now: Principles Course »   Master Modules »
MISS specimen course
On the beginning of February, we had three groups attending our Advanced Level Specimen Course—Minimally invasive surgery which was held in Palm Beach (US). In total we had 54 participants from nine countries. Each group had about seven hours of practical activity and for the first time we carried out a course with only two participants per work station. The theoretical content of the course was reviewed previously and online in order to increase the time of interaction and practice during the course.

The scientific program included lumbar spine surgical strategy using MISS techniques and how to prevent and manage surgical complications. One of the learning outcomes was the development of practical skills in the techniques of ALIF, LLIF and TLIF. The scientific program as well as the Faculty group was the same in all groups. The Chairperson was Cristiano Menezes (BR) and the Educational Advisor was Néstor Taboada (CO). The Faculty were Alexandre Sadao (BR), Barón Zárate (MX), Matías Petracchi (AR), Nelson Morales (CO), Yamil Rivera (PR).
AOPEER Course
Conducting clinical studies is a challenging and multifaceted task. The AOPEER Level 2 Course—Study Management and Good Clinical Practice (GCP), which will take place in Sao Paulo on 29-30 March 2019, will provide you practical guides and tips to complete a successful clinical study.

This 2-days course is organized in eight modules and includes lectures, interactive workshops as well as panel and group discussions, preceded by online preparation activities. The course explains the ISO 14155 standard for the conduct of clinical studies and presents the basic ethical principles according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

The main learning objectives are to recognize the importance of conducting research involving human participants; to identify and describe the basic documents of reference in research ethics; to understand the importance of protecting human participants in the design, conduct and follow-up of research projects involving human beings; and to apply the most relevant project management tools in a clinical study.

The course is open for all AO Foundation Clinical Divisions: AOSpine, AOCMF, AOTrauma, and AOVET. The Faculty is formed by the AOPEER task force members Ivo Schauwecker (CH), Matthew Allen (UK), and Risto Kontio (FI). The Chairpersons are Asdrubal Falavigna (BR), Ricardo Vasconcellos (BR), William Belangero (BR), and Andre Zoppa (BR).

Register now »
Call for Elections
We are pleased to announce the call for applications for the 2019 Regional Board Elections. The election will be for the positions of Education, Community Development and Spine Centers & Fellowships Officers. Currently the positions are under the administration of Néstor Taboada (CO), Jaime Segura (CO) and Emiliano Vialle (BR) respectively, who will officially end their terms on June 30, 2019. The applications must be submitted up to February 18th, 2019. The voting process will start soon. Read more »
Global Spine Journal
Last year was a banner year for Global Spine Journal. We had a record number of submissions, downloads and citations. We wanted to share with all of you the best that 2018 had to offer for GSJ and we hope that this will help you in your own readings and research.

Top 5 downloaded articles that were published in 2018:
  1. Degenerative Lumbar Spine Disease: Estimating Global Incidence and Worldwide Volume
  2. Reliability and Validity of the AOSpine Thoracolumbar Injury Classification System: A Systematic Review
  3. Radiological Fusion Criteria of Postoperative Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Systematic Review
  4. Worldwide Steroid Prescription for Acute Spinal Cord Injury
  5. Posterior Subaxial Cervical Spine Screw Fixation: A Review of Techniques
Top 5 cited articles in 2018, published in 2017:
  1. Impact of Operation Time on 30-Day Complications After Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery
  2. Comparison Perioperative Factors During Minimally Invasive Pre-Psoas Lateral Interbody Fusion of the Lumbar Spine Using Either Navigation or Conventional Fluoroscopy
  3. Risk Factors for Delirium After Spine Surgery in Extremely Elderly Patients Aged 80 Years or Older and Review of the Literature: Japan Association of Spine Surgeons with Ambition Multicenter Study
  4. Differences between Manufacturers of Computed Tomography–Based Computer-Assisted Surgery Systems Do Exist: A Systematic Literature Review
  5. Spine Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy: Indications, Outcomes, and Points of Caution
In January, GSJ launched a new “Special Collections Index” online. These special collections contain groups of articles by topic. Each collection contains handpicked articles from our general article index in order to provide our readers with a more organized and efficient way to read articles on certain topics. Please go to Special Collections Index, where you can see the collection topics and the articles within each collection.
Live tissue course
Save your place in our Advanced Level Live Tissue Course—Avoiding complications in anterior approaches and complex procedures, which will take place in Curitiba (BR), on March 15-16, 2019.

It is a 2-days hands-on course where, in a live-tissue environment, participants will experience the common approaches (anterior) to the thoracic and lumbar spine and to perform an osteotomy of the posterior elements of the column. They will also learn the principles in the avoidance and management of common complications and an update on intersomatic arthrodesis.

The participants will be able to understand applied anatomy of the lateral and anterior approaches and to perform anterior, anterior lateral and anterolateral access.

A carefully selected faculty working together to offer the opportunity of supervised live-tissue training. The Chairperson is Luiz Vialle (BR) and the Educational Advisor Emiliano Vialle (BR).

Register now »
Register now for the Global Spine Congress
The 2019 GSC in Toronto will take place from May 15-18, 2019. The GSC explores new approaches in spine treatment and provides the opportunity to meet the world's best spine experts. In total, 1,501 abstracts were submitted – a 36% increase in abstracts submitted compared to last year. The increase in number of abstracts received is evidence that the GSC is marked on the agenda of spine surgeons worldwide and the growth trend continues.

We are expecting over 2,000 participants to attend the GSC in Toronto and are excited to see the congress return to North America for its 10-year anniversary. The GSC is a great venue to network with spine professionals from around the world, explore career development opportunities, and gain access to the world's best research and clinical experts.

AOSpine members receive a $150 (USD) discount on the GSC registration fee. Not an AOSpine member? Sign up for membership today.

For more information on the GSC, visit www.gsc2019.org.
AOSpine Case-based Webinar
Our first webinar of 2019 will happen on March 9th. The webinar is based on discussions of clinical cases presented by three experienced Faculty from different countries in Latin America. The two hours event was developed to allow high interaction between participants and speakers. The Chairperson is Nestor Fiore (AR) and the Faculty are Claudio Fernandez (AR), will be presenting a case about lumbar fracture; Fernando Alvarado (CO) presenting a case about spinal pain in childhood and Nelson Astur (BR) presenting a case about deformity due to neurofibromatosis. You’ll get the chance to discuss any questions you may have with them. If you can’t make it to the live webinar, those who register will also receive the recorded webinar in its entirety.

When: Saturday, March 9th at 4:00 pm CET (check your local time)

Register now »
Educational Activities
22 Feb AOSpine Advanced Symposium—MISS. SCCOT Cartagena
09 Mar AOSpine Webinar I {Case-based} Online
15-16 Mar AOSpine Advanced Level Live Tissue Course—Avoiding complications in anterior approaches and complex procedures Curitiba
22-23 Mar AOSpine Advanced Seminar—Deformities Cienfuegos
22 Mar AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Trauma Caracas
26 Mar AOSpine Webinar—Rheumatoid arthritis of the cervical spine {1 hour} Online
27 Mar AOSpine Advanced Symposium—Cervical spine. ABNc Foz do Iguaçu
29-30 Mar AOPEER Course Level II Sao Paulo
05-06 Apr AOSpine Principles Course Guadalajara
06 Apr AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Trauma Curitiba
12-13 Apr AOSpine Simulation Course—MISS tubular surgery techniques Mexico City
12 Apr AOSpine Principles Course Mexico City
13 Apr AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Degenerative lumbar spine Belo Horizonte
13 Apr AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Degenerative spine La Paz
24-25 Apr AOSpine Latin America Masters Level Specimen Course—Tumors Palm Beach
26-27 Apr AOSpine Latin America Advanced Level Specimen Course—Cervical spine Palm Beach
26 Apr AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Deformities Maturín
27 Apr AOSpine Webinar II {Case-based} Online
27 Apr AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Deformities) Lima
01 May AOSpine Advanced Symposium— AOSpine solutions for complex & complicated cases. SBC Sao Paulo
03 May AOSpine Hospital Based Seminar—Degenerative spine Caracas
03-04 May AOSpine Hospital Based Simulation Course—MISS tubular surgery techniques Mendoza
07 May AOSpine Webinar—Lumbar spinal stenosis {1 hour} Online
Regional Courses 2019
AOSpine Latin America
Av. Silva Jardim, 2042. Cj 1505
80250-200 . Curitiba, Brasil
T +55 41 3016 4491
[email protected]
www.aospine.org
/AOSpineLatinAmerica
@AOSpine_Latam