2025 David B. Levine, MD, HSS Spine Symposium
Spinal Alignment: Current-Day Concepts and Applications
Friday, June 6, 2025 7:00 am – 2:45 pm ET

Virtual or Onsite at Hospital for Special Surgery
535 East 70th Street New York, NY 10021
Join HSS for a 1-day course focused on the evolving field of spinal alignment, with insights into the latest concepts and practices. Learn about new alignment parameters, how they impact surgical planning, and how to evaluate spinal alignment pre- and postoperatively, considering patient-specific factors that influence outcomes. The course will cover advanced surgical techniques, advanced imaging and navigation tools, and evidence-based guidelines for addressing spinal deformities and complications. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of personalized treatment approaches, tailored to age, comorbidities, and individual clinical presentation.
Michael Kelly, MD
Michael P. Kelly
MD
Han Jo Kim, MD
Sheeraz Qureshi, MD, MBA
David B. Levine, MD
David B. Levine
MD
Moderator: James E. Dowdell III, MD; Kyle W. Morse, MD
9:05 am
PI-LL and the Evolution of How We Arrived at These Concepts | Virginie Lafage, PhD
9:20 am
The History of the Creation of Age-Adjusted Alignment and Its Clinical Relevancy | Renaud Lafage, MS
Moderator: Francis C. Lovecchio, MD
Panel: Dr. Munish C. Gupta, MD, MBA; Ronald A. Lehman Jr., MD; Lawrence G. Lenke, MD; Matthew E. Cunningham, MD, PhD
9:30 am
Case #1: PI-LL was Perfect, but Still Had Mechanical Failures
9:35 am
Panel Commentary
9:45 am
Case #2: PI-LL was Perfect, and Patient Did Perfectly
9:50 am
Panel Commentary
10:00 am
Case #3: Where PI-LL was Not Perfect, but Patient Did Very Well Anyway
10:05 am
Panel Commentary
Moderator: Han Jo Kim, MD
10:35 am
GAP Score and Its Clinical Relevancy | Michael P. Kelly, MD
10:45 am
T4-L1PA and Future Concepts in Spinal Alignment | Jeffrey M. Hills, MD
11:00 am
Practical Applications of the GAP Score, T4-L1PA, C2-PA and PI-LL, SVA Concepts: What Does the Literature Say is Superior with Regard to PJK Incidence? | Kyle W. Morse, MD
Moderator: Francis C. Lovecchio, MD
Panel: Munish C. Gupta, MD, MBA; Han Jo Kim, MD; Lawrence G. Lenke, MD
11:15 am
Case #1: T4-L1PA are Spot On, but Still Had Failure / PJK Development
11:20 am
Panel Commentary
11:30 am
Case #2: T4-L1PA were “Off,” but No Failure of PJK and Clinical Success
11:35 am
Panel Commentary
11:45 am
Case #3: T4-L1PA were “Off,” and developed Mechanical Failure
11:50 am
Panel Commentary
Suken A. Shah, MD
Suken A. Shah
MD
Michael Kelly, MD
Michael P. Kelly
MD
Panel: John S. Blanco, MD; Jessica H. Heyer, MD; Han Jo Kim, MD; Lawrence G. Lenke, MD
1:00 pm
Case 1 | Suken A. Shah, MD
1:15 pm
Case 2 | Michael Kelly, MD
Moderators: Ronald A. Lehman Jr., MD; Michael Virk, MD
1:50 pm
MIS Applications of Alignment Concepts: Is it Important? | Sravisht Iyer, MD
Segmental Alignment is Not Important for Fusions in MIS Surgery | Roger Härtl, MD
2:07 pm
Segmental Alignment is Absolutely Important in MIS Surgery | Jeremy Steinberger, MD
2:14 pm
The Role for Alignment in the Endoscopic Case | Michael Kelly, MD
2:21 pm
Audience Vote: Debate Winner
Moderator: Han Jo Kim, MD
2:25 pm
Prone-Lateral Procedures: Tips and Tricks | William D. Zelenty, MD
2:30 pm
All Posterior Approach | Gbolabo Sokunbi, MD
2:35 pm
Thoracic Kyphosis Generation in the AIS Patient | Suken A. Shah, MD
2:40 pm
MIS Approaches | Sravisht Iyer, MD
This course is named in honor of David B. Levine, MD, Orthopaedic Surgeon Emeritus at Hospital for Special Surgery. A former Chief of the Scoliosis Service (1967–1995), Dr. Levine specialized in scoliosis and care of the spine at HSS for over 30 years. He is Director Emeritus of both the Alumni Affairs and the Archives Committees. The David B. Levine, MD, Chair in Scoliosis is established in his honor.
Kyle W. Morse, MD
Munish C. Gupta, MD, MBA | Washington University Orthopedics
Roger Hartl, MD | Weill Cornell Medicine
Jeffrey M. Hills, MD | UT Health San Antonio
Michael Kelly, MD | Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego
Renaud Lafage, MS | Northwell Health
Virginie Lafage, PhD | Lenox Hill Hospital
Ronald Arthur Lehman, MD | Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Lawrence G. Lenke, MD | NewYork Presbyterian Och Spine Hospital
Suken A. Shah, MD | Nemours Children’s Hospital
Jeremy M. Steinberger, MD | Mount Sinai Health System
Michael S. Virk, MD, PhD | Weill Cornell Medicine
Michael G. Vitale, MD | Columbia University Irving Medical Center
This activity is targeted to spine and neurosurgeons, non-operative spine and sports physicians, and advanced practice providers. Residents, fellows and medical students may also benefit from this activity.
Funding support for this program is pending. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Alena Competello, Director of Education Development, at competelloa@hss.edu.
For registration assistance or any other questions, contact HSS Continuing Education at 212.606.1057 or continuingeducation@hss.edu.
All registered participants will receive a confirmation via e-mail.
A handling fee will be deducted from the registration fee for cancellations. Refund requests must be received no later than one week prior to the course. No refund will be made thereafter.
Hospital for Special Surgery reserves the right to cancel this course. In the unlikely event the course is canceled, HSS will issue a full refund of the registration fee, but will not be responsible for any other charges incurred by the registrant due to the cancellation of the course.
This program may be recorded, filmed or photographed. By attending this program, you give permission to Hospital for Special Surgery to use your voice and likeness for any purpose (promotional, educational, or other), in any medium, and without remuneration of any kind to you.