OVERVIEW

AO Spine Course - Fundamental Techniques in Spine Surgery is organized by AO Foundation and will be held from Nov 30 - Dec 02, 2026 in Davos, Canton, Switzerland.

Description:
In this course, participants will learn not only how to perform the procedures but, most importantly, how to perform them to the best possible standards. This course is built around 12 hands-on sessions, where participants will perform the most frequent surgical procedures in spine in realistic models, with state-of-the-art instruments and tools.

Groups of two participants with one table instructor will use real instrument sets, microscopes, power tools, navigation and computer-assisted step-by-step guidance to perform the procedures, on step-by-step protocols intraoperatively delivered by a computer app.

The course will be preceded by 3 online modules, one week each, that will provide the participants with the necessary theoretical background and surgical technique description to obtain the most from their course. Participants are expected to dedicate 1 to 3 hours per week to review the content of these modules.

This course has been tailored using a strong educational design process where surgeons’ needs are translated into educational goals. Practical exercises and other activities are designed to fill any gaps in your competency. At the end of the process the course design ensures that every participant is able to incorporate the learning into their clinical practice.

Goal:
As surgeons with more than 50 years of combined experience, we have learned that the success of our surgical career strongly depends not only on the ability to reach the peaks of surgical skill but, even to a larger extent, on how reliably and consistently we perform as surgeons, eliminating chances for complications, failures and mediocre results. Mastering the fundamental techniques means to be able to eliminate errors and outliers that undermine your patients’ outcomes, your well-being, and your reputation.

Objectives:
At the end of the course, participants will be able to

Summarize indications for surgery adapted to the patient risk profile for the most common surgical procedures
Perform the following procedures step-by-step, following an efficient, pre-defined workflow: anterior and posterior cervical, management of cervical fractures with locked facets, ACDF, C1/2 fusion, subaxial posterior instrumentation with navigation, laminoplasty and laminectomy, management of thoracolumbar fractures and dural tears, TLIF, ALIF, OLIF, pedicle subtraction osteotomy, lumbar, sacral and pelvic instrumentation with navigation
Describe workflows to implement standardization and checklists for patient selection, surgical planning, execution, and aftercare.