THE ACADEMIC IMPACT OF THE SYMPOSIUM ON ENDOSCOPY AND MINIMALLY INVASIVE SPINE SURGERY OF THE MEXICAN ASSOCIATION OF SPINE SURGEONS – AMCICO

ABSTRACT Introduction: The interest in spinal endoscopy is rising, particularly among younger spine surgeons. Formalized postgraduate training programs for endoscopic spinal surgery techniques are lacking behind. Methods: The authors performed a retrospective survey study amongst participants of the 2022 AMCICO endoscopic surgery symposium. Descriptive and correlative statistics were done on the surgeon’s responses recorded in multiple-choice questions. In addition, surgeons were asked about their clinical experience and preferences with spinal endoscopy, training background, the types of lumbar endoscopic decompression they perform by approach, and future training requirements. SPSS (version 27) statistical software package was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistic measures were used to count responses and calculate the mean, range, standard deviation, and percentages. In addition, chi-square statistics were used to determine the strength of the association between factors. Results: The online survey was accessed by 321 surgeons, of which 92 completed it (53.4%). Demographic data showed the majority of responding surgeons being orthopedic surgeons (73.6%) and under the age of 50 (69.2%), with over half (51.1%) having less than three months of formalized training in endoscopic spinal surgery techniques. Most surgeons practiced uni-portal (58.9%) versus bi-portal (3.4%) spinal endoscopy. The transforaminal approach (65.5%) was preferred over the interlaminar method (34.4%). The bi-portal technique was indicated almost exclusively for the lumbar spine (94.8%). For endoscopically assisted spinal fusions, a uni-portal approach was preferred by 72% of surgeons over a bi-portal procedure (24.5%). 84.1% of respondents were interested in navigation, of which 30.7% preferred optical over electromagnetic technology (18.2%). Robotics was of interest to 51.1% of survey participants. Respondents’ bias was estimated with course attendance assessments, with 37% of surgeons having attended all three days, 27.2% two days, and 16.3% one day. One-fifth of responding spine surgeons did not participate in any curriculum activities but completed the survey. The academic impact of the AMCICO endoscopy symposium was high, with 68.1% of respondents indicating interest in continued training and 61.1% of trainees ready to apply their newly acquired knowledge base to clinical practice. Conclusion: The interest in spinal endoscopy surgery techniques and protocols is high among AMCICO members. Many surgeons are interested in learning advanced endoscopic surgical techniques to integrate the technology into their surgical procedure portfolio to address common painful conditions of the degenerative spine beyond herniated discs and foraminal stenosis. The authors concluded that its academic impact was high based on the responses given by the participating surgeons. Level of evidence III; Retrospective study.