Welcome

Hans Jörg Meisel joins us and shares his thoughts on why every spine surgeon should do research, how back pain will eventually be solved, and why he joined AO Spine in a time that was bursting with innovation—not all of it good.

Franziska Schmidt talks about her study on regional differences in surgeon education, about creating successful hospital teams for best patient outcomes, and about the aims of her next studies.

We are extremely proud to present the AO Spine Global Diploma Class of 2020! The top scorers share their experiences firsthand, while the exam committee looks back at the first year evaluating the success of the initiative.

AO Spine recently published several papers from a study on Telemedicine, which collected worldwide perspectives and practices from spine surgeons. The authors highlight some key considerations of the platform and how the pandemic accelerated the adoption of the new tool.

A second important research article in this issue is about research registries. Three leading surgeons from the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Tumor explain how the large prospective Primary and Metastatic Tumor Research and Outcomes Network registries will help understand spinal tumors.

AO Spine Latin America recently reorganized their webinars framework with the aim to provide a better understanding of their offerings. We invited Regional Education officer Luiz Gustavo Dal Oglio da Rocha to introduce the key aspects of the new structure.

In a popular networking session during the AO Davos Courses 2020, the AO President-elect Florian Gebhard talked with pilots about creating a culture of trust, how it is fundamental in creating a safe and efficient working environment. We take you back to the event to see how the same principles apply for pilots and surgeons.

Overall, AO Spine again earned high praise from the AO Davos Courses 2020 participants, demonstrating why we continue to be the premier knowledge provider in spine surgery. Read what the participants and faculty have to say.

And finally, we close this issue with a very personal highlight, a true love story in spine: Christina and James Wright are both spine surgeons, they are married, and completing their fellowship—together! We talked to Christina and James Wright about how they balance each other both at home and work.