The British Scoliosis Society (BSS) and The British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS), in conjunction with Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK), are pleased to announce a new, two year, research fellowship.

This research fellowship of up to £60k is funded between the three organisations for a period of 2 years. This will require a leave of absence from clinical roles and / or training with agreement of employers or training programme directors.

It is aimed at individuals with an interest in research in to any spinal area. It is open for applications to any individual who is already a member of either BSS or BASS, or would be eligible to apply for full membership commensurate to their seniority within their professional group. To be clear, this includes allied health professionals (AHPs) and nurses along with medical doctors (consultants and trainees).

It is envisioned that this role will be full time and will result in the awarding of an MD, or equivalent higher degree, in partnership with a UK university, along with high impact papers in recognised journals.

Applications will be a single stage process with those successful invited for interview. The role is planned to commence in August 2023.

Applications will be judged on the research idea presented, the prospective research fellow and their ability to deliver the research, and the supporting mentors / supervision team. 

Closing date for applications is on Friday, 17 February 2023 at 17:00

Further information and application can be found at: https://oruk.org/research/joint-partnership-funds/

The BSS supports the multi-centre NIHR funded Bracing Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (BASIS) study of night-time v full-time bracing in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

https://basisstudy.org/ - The BASIS Study – The BASIS Study is trying to find out which type of back brace is best for treating children and young people with scoliosis.

The 2023 BOA Future Leaders Programme (FLP) has launched and applications are now open.

BSS will be sponsoring one fellow on the 2023 FLP. This place is only open to members of BSS, and applications will close on 5th September 2022.

To be eligible to take part in the programme, when the programme runs, you must be either:

• A senior trainee (ST8 or above)
• A newly appointed consultant (less than 3 years)
• An SAS Surgeon (FRCS Tr & Orth)
• A post-CCT Surgeon

The successful candidate must be a BOA member when the programme runs to be eligible to take part (you may still apply without BOA membership, but will need to apply if successful. You must be a BSS member upon application)

BSS will have an executive board panel assessment to select the successful candidate. All applications will be anonymised to reduce the potential for unconscious bias.

Please download the Main BOA Future Leaders Programme application form, provide your CV and complete the Equality and Diversity Monitoring form. Send your completed application to policy@boa.ac.uk

More information on the FLP and how to apply is on the BOA website at boa.ac.uk/flp and www.boa.ac.uk/learning-and-events/courses/boa-future-leaders-programme/how-to-apply.html

PLEASE NOTE - All previous 2020 and 2021 submitters have been communicated to with requirement to resubmit via the new 2022 portal.
If you wish to withdraw your abstracts, please email abstracts@britscoliosis.org.uk

The 44th Annual Meeting of the British Scoliosis Society (BSS) will take place in person at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, 2nd to 4th November 2022.

Currently the BSS asking for abstract submissions for this event, where there will be opportunities to showcase via oral presentations or posters to all delegates at this face-to-face meeting, one of the first opportunities since the pandemic to do so.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 10th August 2022

After the deadline closes, abstracts will be reviewed by a panel of judges and we hope to notify all submitters within a month of the closure of submissions.

Please visit our dedicated submission portal at: https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/4271/submitter

If you have any questions, queries or issues with submitting abstracts then please contact us by email at abstracts@britscoliosis.org.uk or our administrative support at ukssb@boa.ac.uk

For more information on the conference, including registration, visit https://britscoliosis.org.uk/BSS2022 and follow us on Twitter (@BritScoliosis) for further updates.

We look forward to receiving your submissions and welcoming you in Edinburgh in November.

The British Scoliosis Society (BSS) are proud to announce that on the evening of Thursday 25th November 2021, starting at 6:30pm (18:30), there will be Webinars on 'Life after MAGEC' and 'Navigation/enabling tech in Paediatric scoliosis surgery', followed by the 2021 AGM for the BSS.

Registration is required to attend, and is only open to BSS members (and applicant members)

To register, please follow the links in the member news area (login required)

PDF Version: 210625 - BSS MAGEC Patient Information.pdf

MAGEC Growing Rods

British Scoliosis Society Patient Information

NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics Inc., (the company that manufactures MAGEC growing rods) and the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have released statements that announce the CE certification for the MAGEC growing rod system has been temporarily suspended and we should not implant any more MAGEC growing rods in the UK until further notice. The reasons for this are complicated but include concerns about failure of the rods and the ability of the rods to continue lengthening using the external magnet.

If your child is due for surgery using the MAGEC growing rods, this will not be possible and we do not know when MAGEC rods will be available for use in the UK again. Your surgeon will discuss the other available options for treating your child.

If your child still has the MAGEC growing rods then your surgeon will continue to monitor your child and lengthen the MAGEC growing rods in clinic. X-rays must be taken every 6 months and your surgeon will compare these with previous x-rays to look for any problems and confirm that the rods are still lengthening. The rods only need removing if the device has broken, is not lengthening anymore, has reached the end of distraction or has been implanted for 6 years. The rods will be removed as soon as possible in these circumstances or once treatment has ended, and your surgeon will discuss the options for your child.

If your child previously had MAGEC growing rods but they have been removed, then no further action is required.

For additional information please go the British Scoliosis Society Website where the MHRA and NuVasive documents can be found. If you still have concerns, please contact your surgical team who will be happy to discuss things further.

Additional Links:

NuVasive Company Statement - MAGEC and Precice CE Mark (nuvasive.com)

Dear BASS and BSS Members,

The 2022 BOA Future Leaders Programme (FLP) has launched and applications are now open.
Both the British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) and the British Scoliosis Society (BSS) will be sponsoring one fellow each for the 2022 FLP. These two places are only open to members of BASS and BSS. Applications will close on 6th September 2021.

To be eligible to take part in the programme, when the programme runs, you must be either:
•    A senior trainee (ST8 or above)
•    A newly appointed consultant (less than 3 years)
•    An SAS Surgeon (FRCS Tr & Orth)
•    A post-CCT Surgeon

The successful candidate must also be a BOA member when the programme runs to be eligible to take part.
BASS and BSS will have panels to select the successful candidate for these society-funded places. All applications will be anonymised by the BOA to reduce the potential for unconscious bias.

Please download the Main BOA Future Leaders Programme application form, provide your CV and complete the Equality and Diversity Monitoring form. Send your completed application to policy@boa.ac.uk

More information on the FLP and how to apply is on the BOA website at boa.ac.uk/flp

BSS 2021 is taking place at Surgeons Quarter, Edinburgh on 25-26 November 2021 and now accepting abstract submissions.
Deadline for submissions will be 17:00 (5pm) UTC on Friday 10th September 2021
For more information, visit: https://flame.firebird.systems/archer-yates/BSS2021/MySubmissions

Are you completing a research project or data collection exercise you want to have a wider reach with your peers and colleagues?

BSS have some options available for survey distributions:

- Anyone can request a survey distribution to go BSS members by email via the UKSSB Newsletter. To access the request form and for more information, visit: https://www.ukssb.com/survey-distributions

PDF Statement: 210407 - BSS-BASS Statement.pdf

A recent publication of a paper in Bone and Joint Journal highlighted the “worse than death” quality of life scores for a number of patients in pain from arthritis of the hip and knee with lengthened wait times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.1

As spine surgeons managing patients in severe pain due to arthritic conditions as well as severe pain and despair from nerve root compression, we very much echo the concerns from our arthroplasty colleagues about our patient groups.

There are many patients now waiting many months for pain relieving interventions that have not been able to access elective lists due to the capacity issues related to the pandemic. These interventions usually come at the end of a conservative trial that has already failed, meaning that there is no other alternative for these patients whilst waiting. In addition, we have all seen patients progress to neurological compromise during the pandemic, requiring unplanned urgent or emergent surgery as a consequence. Unfortunately, on some occasions these can be irreversible changes. Children with spine deformity have also progressed in terms of their disease whilst waiting.

As organisations with clinician members concerned about the welfare of our patients, we urge that NHS bodies and Trusts work with us to find sustainable solutions to restart elective work in a safe way that allows equity of access to “COVID green” pathways, critical care facilities and MRSA screened facilities for spine surgery patients. We recognise that care needs to be focussed on clinical priorities, but welcome reassurance that the FSSA prioritisation categories are honoured regardless of underlying surgical condition. We also urge that resources are used to improve the well-being of all patients with awful pain that are awaiting surgery as soon as possible.

References:
1 https://online.boneandjoint.org.uk/doi/full/10.1302/0301-620X.103B.BJJ-2021-0104.R1