Several hundred thousand spine surgeries are performed throughout the United Stateseach year.The vast majority of these operationsenable our patients to have less pain and function betterboth at home and at work.

Over the last 30 years,the complexity of these operations has increased dramatically with theadvancement ofspinal instrumentation which can rigidly fix the spine to enable faster healing, obtain better correction of curvatures of the spine, and even provide motion with the artificial joint replacements.We must remember...