Introducing Inter Pares: candid conversations in spine surgery
What happens when spine surgeons from different backgrounds, generations, and regions of the world sit down together to openly discuss the questions that don't always have straightforward answers?
- AO Spine introduces Inter Pares, a YouTube video series of candid conversations between spine surgeons on today’s most important topics in spine care.
- The series offers authentic, lecture-free dialogue that reveals how surgeons think through complex questions, challenge assumptions, and make real-world treatment decisions.
- Spine professionals at all career stages can use these discussions to learn from diverse experiences, compare approaches, and gain new perspectives on controversial and evolving areas of spine surgery.
- Future episodes will explore topics like minimally invasive spine surgery, artificial intelligence, spinal infections, surgical decision-making, and the evolving role of the spine surgeon in a changing healthcare landscape.
On September 29, AO Spine launches Inter Pares, a new YouTube video series that invites viewers into candid conversations between spine surgeons exploring some of the most important and thought-provoking topics in spine care today.
Named after the Latin phrase meaning "among equals," Inter Pares brings together spine surgeons from around the world in an environment designed to encourage open, authentic dialogue. Free from the structure of formal presentations and traditional interviews, the series creates space for genuine conversation, where differing perspectives, experiences, and approaches can be shared and explored.
Inter Pares is built on a simple idea: some of the most valuable learning happens when colleagues sit down together and exchange ideas openly. Whether discussing controversial topics, emerging trends, clinical decision-making, or the future of the specialty, each episode captures the kind of conversations that often take place after a conference session ends rather than during it.
Viewers are invited into these discussions as observers, gaining a unique perspective on how spine surgeons think through complex questions, challenge assumptions, and learn from one another. The result is less a lecture and more an opportunity to witness the nuances, uncertainty, and real-world considerations that shape modern spine care.
Each episode features a different combination of voices and perspectives. Experienced faculty may be joined by rising leaders in the field. Clinicians working in different healthcare systems, practice environments, and regions of the world come together to share insights shaped by their own experiences. While participants may differ in background, expertise, or career stage, they meet as peers, united by a shared commitment to advancing spine care.
Are we over-fusing?
Exploring debated questions
The inaugural episode, "Fusion versus motion preservation: are we over-fusing?", brings together Dr Maria Auron, Dr Marcin Czyz, and Dr Christopher Martin to explore a heavily debated question in contemporary spine surgery. Through an engaging and honest exchange of views, they examine the evolving relationship between fusion and motion-preserving approaches, highlighting the considerations that influence treatment decisions in daily practice.
Future episodes will tackle a wide range of topics, including minimally invasive spine surgery, artificial intelligence, spinal infections, surgical decision-making, and the evolving role of spine surgery and the spine surgeon in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. Some conversations will take the form of friendly debates, while others will be more exploratory and reflective, even philosophical, but all will be grounded in the exchange of diverse experiences and perspectives.
Inter Pares is an invitation to join in a global conversation. Whether you are a resident beginning your spine journey, an established surgeon with decades of experience, or somewhere in between, these discussions offer an opportunity to hear different viewpoints, discover new perspectives, and engage with the questions shaping the future of spine surgery.
Tune in on September 29 for the premiere episode of Inter Pares, for conversations you will want to listen in on.