In 2006, a group of surgeons who specialized in minimally invasive spine surgery gathered in San Diego for the first academic meeting organized by the University of California San Diego, which focused exclusively on minimally invasive spine procedures. The meeting was a huge success and uncovered a clear set of needs.
SMISS was officially formed as a non-profit organization in 2007
The relevance of a meeting dedicated to teaching MISS techniques was immediately recognized; so a second, larger meeting was organized in 2007. A small sub-set of surgeons recognized the need for a non-aligned, non-profit academic body to define, standardize and teach the new approaches to MISS techniques.
The Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) was officially formed as a non-profit organization in 2007 and nine Board of Directors, who in large part corresponded to the original members registered in the first SMISS Bylaws, managed the organization.
SMISS 2008
- Launch of SMISS website-June.
- First official SMISS Annual Conference in Las Vegas with 112 medical attendees.
- Development and launch of the Patient Resources Center on the SMISS website.
SMISS 2009
- SMISS Strategic Planning Meeting - active decision to collect clinical MISS data.
- SMISS Membership Launch, May 2009 - membership reached 99 by the end of 2009.
- 2nd SMISS Annual Conference in Las Vegas attracted 181 medical attendees.
SMISS 2010
- Creation of the pilot SMISS Registry.
- 3rd SMISS Annual Conference in Miami, 184 registered medical attendees.
- 1st cadaver training course (inside Annual Conference): 55 registrants for 11 stations.
SMISS 2011
- Launched the SMISS Prospective Registry - sponsored by Globus, joimax, and Orthofix.
- 1st SMISS Spring CME-accredited Cadaver Workshop in Miami draws 24 registrants for 6 stations.
- SMISS creates online CME accredited lecture series using presentations from 2010 annual congress.
- SMISS builds a pilot "core" curriculum to test surgeon interest in a formal MISS education program.
- 4th SMISS Annual Conference in Las Vegas, registrations topped 202, an 80% increase in 3 years!
SMISS 2012
- Launch of SMISS Core Curriculum, online MISS lecture series.
- 2nd SMISS Spring CME accredited Cadaver Workshop in Miami: 19 completed the course.
- SMISS Board Meeting, Chicago, 9th June: approval for change in strategic direction.
- 5th SMISS Annual Conference runs in Miami - 225 registrations.