Dear Spine Surgeons and Researchers,

A surprising fact is that the Korean War broke out in 1950, but has still not ended in 2018. Military tensions in the north and south continued both during the 3-year period of active war from 1950 to 1952 and the subsequent cold war period after that (1952–present). Spinal neurosurgery in North Korea is still behind the veil. Therefore, people living outside of North Korea have not had the opportunity to learn how spine medicine is practiced in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The society of the DPRK has become better known to the world through the recent South-North Korea and US-North Korea summit talks, and some novel aspects of spine medicine in the DPRK have come to light. In this issue of Neurospine, we are publishing a special invited paper, written by Dr. Kee B. Park et al. (Boston, USA) introducing spine medicine as it is practiced in the DPRK. This paper provides a fascinating glimpse of the history and current status of the spine care system in the DPRK.

Dr. Søren Ohrt-Nissen (Houston, USA) provided a review article regarding the choice of rods in AIS correction surgery. This overview summarizes the current knowledge of rod biomechanics in frequently used rod constructs, with a particular focus on translational research between biomechanical studies and clinical applicability in AIS patients.

Dr. Jeong Hoon Kim (Suwon, Korea) wrote a study on the feasibility of endoscopic surgery in elderly patients (more than 70 years old). This paper enables us to better understand the role of endoscopic spine surgery in high-risk patients, based on the results of clinical and radiological follow-up.

Dr. Jong-Hyeok Park (Seoul, Korea) wrote a study entitled ‘Impact of Surgical Treatment on Survival in Patients with Cervical Spine Metastases.’ He concluded that surgical treatment prior to the onset of motor weakness or radiotherapy provided more benefits in cases of cervical spine metastasis.

Dr. Benjamin C. Mayo (Chicago, USA) investigated postoperative fever following lumbar fusion, providing data on the incidence of postoperative fever, fever-related diagnoses, and complications. He concluded that longer operative time and increased early postoperative narcotic use may increase the risk of developing postoperative fever.

Dr. Sho Furuya (Otaru, Japan) studied differences in fractional anisotrophy of the cervical neural tract using ZOOM DTI, and concluded that ZOOM DTI has the potential to provide more information than conventional DTI.

Yoon Ha, MD, PhD
Editor in Chief, Neurospine

Shih-Huang Tai MD, PhD
Deputy Editor

Makoto Taniguchi MD, PhD
Deputy Editor