Category: Safety

Safety Summit Recap 2024

Summary of the Safety in Spine Surgery Summit's Program | Fri., May 31, 2024, the opening speech was given by Michael Vitale, MD MPH. This was followed by nine sessions of safety-focused content. See the full program of content. Read More

Advances in Pediatric Orthopedics: Creating a Culture of Safety and Excellence in Pediatric Spine and Scoliosis Surgery

Posted on January 30, 2024

In 2013, Michael G. Vitale, MD, MPH, Chief of Pediatric Spine Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, spearheaded the creation of the Project for Safety in Spine Surgery in 2012. The initial goal was to establish best practices guidelines for averting surgical site infections (SSI) in scoliosis patients, a vexing problem affecting up to 8.5% of patients. Read More

The 9th Annual Safety in Spine Surgery Summit Announced

Posted on January 11, 2024

We invite you to join us for the 9th Annual Safety in Spine Surgery Summit. Join an expert faculty for a fresh look at optimizing safety in spine surgery! We’ll explore new topics such as: How Can Enabling Technologies Improve Outcomes? and Avoiding Complications with New Techniques. Read More

Dr. Vitale Interviewed About Safety in Spine Surgery Month

Posted on October 11, 2023

Dr. Derek Lee interviews Dr. Michael Vitale about Safety in Spine Surgery Month. Learn about the inspiration for founding the Safety in Spine Surgery Project (S3P) and the impact the organization has had already. Read More

Perioperative Orthopedic Quality & Safety Newsletter

Posted on July 18, 2023

Dr. Michael G. Vitale, Vice-Chair, Strategy & Quality, Columbia Orthopedics Quality Team, is pleased to share this quarterly newsletter with you. Happy Summer from the Columbia Orthopedics team! We are excited to continue sharing our perioperative quality updates and reading list for this quarter. Since our last issue, we have welcomed two Quality & Performance Improvement (QPI) fellows, Erin Butrico (2021-2022) and Chinenye E. Ezeh (current: 2022-2023), and a new fellow (Melanie Brown, 2023-2024) who will join the team in July of this year. Read More

Advances in Pediatric Orthopedics: Q&A: Dr. Michael Vitale on Research, Innovation, and His Focus on Patient Quality

Posted on May 03, 2023

Over the course of his renowned 23-year career, pediatric spine surgeon Dr. Michael Vitale has performed thousands of scoliosis surgeries, published more than 250 peer-reviewed research papers, and served in numerous leadership and governance roles in his field. Read More

Advances in Pediatric Orthopedics: Measuring SSI Risk in Pediatric Spine Deformity Surgery

Posted on April 25, 2023

The incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) in pediatric spinal deformity continues to remain high in the United States – reported to range up to 26.3 percent – despite considerable efforts to reduce the number. Predictive models for SSI previously published have had major limitations in methodology primarily due to a paucity of clinical data and few participating institutions. Read More

Advances in Pediatric Orthopedics: Exercising Due Diligence with New Technologies in Spine Surgery

Posted on January 10, 2023

The practice of spine surgery is undergoing a transformation due to advances in technology, such as robotics and navigation systems, that have been developed to augment the skills of spine surgeons. While technologies that can improve outcomes are certainly a ... Read More

Dr. Vitale’s Dedication to Safety in Spine Surgery—News from NewYork-Presbyterian

Posted on July 21, 2022

Advances in Pediatric Orthopedics A Steadfast Obligation to Safety in Spine Surgery What began as a concern a number of years ago about a surgical complication observed by Michael G. Vitale, MD, inspired a transformational initiative in spine deformity surgery safety that is today ... Read More

Advances in Pediatric Orthopedics: A Steadfast Obligation to Safety in Spine Surgery

Posted on July 13, 2022

What began as a concern a number of years ago about a surgical complication observed by Michael G. Vitale, MD, inspired a transformational initiative in spine deformity surgery safety that is today unparalleled. In 2014, Dr. Vitale and colleagues in the field launched The Safety in Spine Surgery Project (S3P) to improve the safety. Read More