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Course Information

Agenda

Wednesday, July 15, 2026
at Hyatt Regency at the Arcade
All times in Eastern Time

12:00–12:30 p.m.
Welcome and Introduction
Ed Benzela
12:45–1:15 p.m.
Preoperative Evaluation/Assessment of the Spine Surgery Patient
Shelly Schmoller
1:15–1:45 p.m.
Medical Management of Complex Spine Surgery Patients
Suzanne Tharin
1:45–2:15 p.m.
Bone Health
Gus Hsia
2:15–2:45 p.m.
Post-op Pain Management ERAS
Ajit Krishnaney
2:45–3:15 p.m.
The Psychology of Chronic Pain
Sara Davin
3:15–3:30 p.m.
Beverage Break
3:30–4:00 p.m.
Spinal Injections: What, When, and Where
Alison Stout
4:00–4:30 p.m.
Mimics of Spine Pathology
Greg Grost
4:30–5:00 p.m.
Image Guidance in Spine Surgery
Iain Kalfas
5:00–6:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion
Richard Schlenk, Moderator
Panel: Sarah Rispinto, Santhosh Thomas
6:30–7:00 p.m.
CSM Case Discussion
Greg Trost

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Thursday, July 16, 2026
at Lutheran Hospital
All times in Eastern Time

6:45–7:00 a.m.
Short Subjects
Ed Benzel
7:00–7:30 a.m.
Fundamentals of Biomechanics
Andy Wakefield
7:30–8:10 a.m.
Approaches to the Craniocervical Junction
Eric Momin
8:10–8:30 a.m.
Endoscopic Treatment of Craniocervical Junction Pathology
Pablo Recinos
8:30–9:00 a.m.
Current Strategies in Craniocervical Stabilization
Ajit Krishnaney
9:00–9:15 a.m.
It’s All About the Hike
Ed Benzel
9:15–9:45 a.m.
Revision Spine Surgery
Greg Trost
9:45–10:15 a.m.
Break
10:15–10:45 a.m.
Getting Out of Trouble in Cervical Spine Surgery
Sharad Rajpal
10:45–11:15 a.m.
Revision Spine Surgery
Greg Trost
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Working Lunch: Craniocervical Case
Greg Trost
12:15–12:30 p.m.
Transition to Lab
12:30–2:45 p.m.
Lab 1&2: Craniocervical Junction/Ventral Cervical Surgery*
Lab Faculty
2:45–3:15 p.m.
Cervical Trauma
Mohamed Zaazoue
3:15–3:45 p.m.
Pediatric Spine Trauma
Gwyneth Hughes
3:45–4:30 p.m.
Case Discussion
Course Faculty

*Session not available for virtual participants

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Friday, July 17, 2026
at Lutheran Hospital
All times in Eastern Time

6:45–7:00 a.m.
Short Subjects
Ed Benzel
7:00–7:30 a.m.
Biomechanics of Instrumentation and Construct Desig
Eric Momin
7:30–8:15 a.m.
Dorsal Cervical Surgery Indications and Techniques
Eldad Hadar
8:15–8:30 a.m.
Introduction of Guest Speaker
Course Faculty
8:30–9:05 a.m.
Guest Lecturer
Iain Kalfas
9:05–9:15 a.m.
Transition to Lab
9:15–11:30 a.m.
Lab 3: Dorsal Cervical Exposure and Craniocervical Fixation*
Lab Faculty
11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Lunch with Cases
Course Faculty
12:15–12:30 p.m.
It’s All About the Hike 2
Ed Benzel
12:30–1:00 p.m.
Biomechanics: Back Pain, Fusion, and Motion Preservation
Roc Patel
1:00–1:45 p.m.
SPINE BOWL 1*
Greg Trost/Suzanne Tharin
1:45–1:50 p.m.
Transition to Lab
1:50–3:50 p.m.
Lab 4: Dorsal Cervical Instrumentation, Deformity Correction, and CT Exposure*
Lab Faculty
3:50–5:00 p.m.
Case Presentations
Mike Steinmetz

*Session not available for virtual participants

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Saturday, July 18, 2026
at Lutheran Hospital
All times in Eastern Time

8:00–8:15 a.m.
Short Subjects
Ed Benzel
8:15–8:35 a.m.
How to Read the Spine Literature
Suzanne Tharin
9:00–9:30 a.m.
How to Write an Article for Publication
Ed Benzel
9:30–10:15 a.m.
Steve Halton Jr Memorial Lecture
Charlies Stillerman
10:15–10:45 a.m.
Surgery of the Geriatric Spine
Greg Trost
10:45–11:30 a.m.
Guest Lecturer
Course Faculty
11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
What to Do When Neuromonitoring Changes
Mike Steinmetz
12:00–12:45 p.m.
Participant Spine Cases (Non–CME)
12:45–1:15 p.m.
It’s All About the Hike
Ed Benzel (Non–CME)

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Sunday, July 19, 2026
at Lutheran Hospital
All times in Eastern Time

8:00–8:15 a.m.
Short Subjects
Ed Benzel
8:15–8:45 a.m.
Spine Tumors: Work-up and Treatment Options
Ajit Krishnaney
8:45–9:00 a.m.
Spinal Radiosurgery
Ganesh Shankar
9:00–9:30 a.m.
Exposure of the Cervicothoracic Junction
Richard Schlenk
9:30–10:00 a.m.
Dorsal Thoracic and Lumbar Instrumentation
Nathaniel Brooks
10:00–10:05 a.m.
Transition to Lab
10:05 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Lab 5: Dorsal Thoracic Exposure/Instrumentation*
Lab Faculty
12:30–1:25 p.m.
Ed Benzel Lecture
Eric Woodard
1:25–1:45 p.m.
Lumbar Complications
Andrew Wakefield
1:45–2:15 p.m.
Open Thoracoadbominal and Retropertionel Approach
Roc Patel
2:15–2:45 p.m.
ALIF OLIF LLIF Exposure and Technique
Brad Schmidt
2:45–2:50 p.m.
Transition to Lab
2:50–4:45 p.m.
Lab 6: Ventral Exposures and Instrumentation*
Lab Faculty
4:45–5:30 p.m.
SPINE BOWL 2*
Greg Trost/Suzanne Tharin

*Session not available for virtual participants

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Monday, July 20, 2026
at Lutheran Hospital
All times in Eastern Time

6:45–7:00 a.m.
Short Subjects
Ed Benzel
7:00–7:30 a.m.
Thoracolumbar Trauma-Case Based
Kristen Jones
7:30–8:00 a.m.
Case Studies
Jonathan Belding
8:00–8:30 a.m.
Pediatric Scoliosis
Ryan Goodwin
8:30–8:45 a.m.
Adult Deformity: Measurement and Classification
Greg Trost
8:45–9:15 a.m.
Spondylolisthesis
Richard Schlenk
9:15–9:30 a.m.
Iatrogenic Deformity Prevention
Ajit Krishnaney
9:30–10:00 a.m.
Deformity Correction Techniques
Greg Trost
10:00–10:30 a.m.
Sacropelvic Fixation
Abdelfattah Saoud
10:30–10:35 a.m.
Transition to Lab
10:35–11:50 a.m.
Lab 7: Deformity*
Lab Faculty
11:50 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
Lunch/SPINE BOWL Finale*
Greg Trost/Suzanne Tharin
12:50–1:20 p.m.
Lumbar MIS Techniques
Gabe Smith
1:20–1:40 p.m.
MIS in Deformity and Trauma
Gabe Smith
1:40–1:55 p.m.
Spine Endoscopy
Than Brooks
1:55–2:10 p.m.
Sports Injuries and Return to Play
Vince Miele
2:10–2:30 p.m.
Preventing Surgical Site Infections
Brad Schmidt
2:30–2:50 p.m.
Primary Spinal Infections
Sameer Kitab
2:50–3:20 p.m.
Course Wrap-up
Ed Benzel
3:20–3:25 p.m.
Transition to Lab
3:25–5:00 p.m.
Lab 8: Participant Choice*
Lab Faculty
5:00 p.m.
Course Concludes
7:00 p.m.
Course Reception Finale at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

*Session not available for virtual participants

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Non-Surgeon Lectures
All times in Eastern Time

Wednesday, July 15
at Hyatt Regency at the Arcade Hotel

7:30–8:00 a.m.
Registration / Meet and Greet / Continental Breakfast
8:00–8:10 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Andrea Strayer, Erin Anderson and Rachel Waite
8:10–8:40 a.m.
Spine Anatomy
Andrea Strayer
8:40–9:20 a.m.
Spinal Pathology
Greg Trost
9:20–9:50 a.m.
Now That I Have Imaging - How to Interpret?
Jenny Wu
9:50–10:15 a.m.
When to Order Imaging
Shelly Schmoller
10:15–11:00 a.m.
Injection
Kelsey McCracken

Friday, July 17
at Lutheran Hospital

10:45–11:15 a.m.
Post-op Care
Erin Anderson
2:30–3:30 p.m.
New Patient History and Exam Pearls for the New Provider
Kush Goyal

Sunday, July 19
at Lutheran Hospital

11:30 a.m.–12 noon
Compression Fractures
Shelly Schmoller and Andrea Strayer
3:30–4:15 p.m.
Compression Fractures II
Shelly Schmoller and Andrea Strayer

Monday, July 20
at Lutheran Hospital

11:15–11:45 a.m.
Post-Op Care
Erin Anderson and Nicole D’Amico

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