Columbia Neurosurgery Spine Leaders at 2024’s International Meeting on Advance Spine Techniques (IMAST)
Innovating New Methods and Techniques for Spinal Pathology
Last week members of our spine team, Dr. Dean Chou, Dr. Andrew Chan and Spine Clinical Research Manager Vivian Le traveled to San Diego for the 31st International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST). From the conference site this meeting allows “leading spine surgeons, innovative researchers, and the most advanced spine technologies come together in an international forum to demonstrate and discuss recent advances in spine surgery.”
Dr. Andrew Chan (who won 2023 IMAST Best Clinical Research Paper) was nominated again for the Thomas E. Whitecloud Award for his work, “Is Upper Extremity or Lower Extremity Function More Important for Patient Satisfaction? An Analysis of 24-Month Outcomes from the QOD Cervical Myelopathy Cohort.”
This work, with the help of medical student Eunice Yang, has been accepted for publication in Clinical Spine Surgery.
Dr. Chan also presented from the QOD research group, “Predictors of Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) Deterioration at 5 Years After Surgery for Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis: A QOD Study.” This work discussed which preoperative factors are most predictive of clinical deterioration after surgery.
As a way of background, the Quality Outcomes Database (QOD) and the Spine CORE Study Group play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of spine surgery. It serves as a comprehensive repository for patient information, consolidating data from various healthcare providers and researchers. Through retrospective reviews, it allows for the examination of thousands of spinal surgeries, unveiling trends and patterns that can inform surgical techniques and patient care.
Said Dr. Chan of this year’s meeting and Columbia Neurosurgery’s role in the QOD, “it is an honor to be involved in such a forward-thinking research group, where the latest analytical methodologies are being employed to better understand spine surgical care provision. This will ultimately improve patient care.”
Dr. Dean Chou served as the moderator for the session titled, “Minimally Invasive: Endoscopic to Deformity” where cases were presented with a lively discussion from the audience. Dr. Chou reflected on this year’s meeting stating, “The IMAST meeting was a great gathering of orthopedic spine surgeons and spinal neurosurgeons for the exchange of ideas, collaboration on research, and discussion on the latest technologies in modern spine surgery.”
Once again, the team was honored to provide knowledge on timely topics related to international spine techniques. As this field continues its evolution, Columbia Neurosurgery’s NewYork-Presbyterian at Och Spine team is well-positioned to meet the needs of patients using the latest technology and research to provide a highly tailored and efficacious treatment plan for every patient they serve. We look forward to leading again at IMAST in 2025.
