AOSpine North America provides a glimpse into the future of spine care

Advances in patient selection, surgical techniques, and postoperative care over the last two decades have allowed practitioners to manage increasingly complex cases with shorter procedure times and reduced hospital lengths of stay. Building on these successes, AOSpine North America brought together experts to provide a glimpse into the next generation of spine care leading to a supplement in Neurosurgery on the "Future Advances in Spine Surgery."

The March 2017 supplement includes an introduction and 13 articles highlighting a range of topics including oncology, deformity, degenerative disease, trauma, infection, and pain. Technological advances such as osteobiologics, robotics, and neuromodulation are discussed in a fascinating series of articles.

Also included is a unique study aiming to establish the cost-benefit relationship for spine procedures with perspectives on how value is defined and how to address variability.

Each article highlights the salient literature and affords insights from multiple key thought leaders in an effort to minimize bias and provide varied perspectives. As co-editor of this issue and research chair of AOSpine North America, Dr. James Harrop from Thomas Jefferson University explains, "We are very proud of the outstanding contributions from some of the leading spine surgeons of North America that make up this focus issue."

Link to the issue: https://academic.oup.com/neurosurgery/issue/80/3S