The Brisbane Advance Spine Forum (BASF) is a clinical education meeting, which brings together the leading Queensland Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeons, Neurosurgeons, and Radiologists to discuss complex clinical cases, topical spine conditions and the latest research in the field.
The Forum is held monthly at the Centre for Children’s Health Research in South Brisbane, and provides a platform for these spine specialists to discuss new techniques and to convey advances in knowledge around patient care. The Forum was the brainchild of Adj/Professor Geoff Askin (Consultant Spinal Orthopaedic Surgeon) and Dr Rob Campbell (Consultant Neurosurgeon) from the Queensland Children’s Hospital, who invite presentations on clinically relevant topics with relevant evidence-based content to be presented each month. Adj/Professor John Earwaker (Consultant Radiologist) provides an in depth tutorial at each meeting on a topical clinical problem from his vast experience and expertise in medical imaging analysis.
The feature presentation of the BASF meeting on December 4 was the ‘Design and Manufacture of Bespoke Theatre Mattresses for complex surgical cases’ and was presented by Associate Professor Paige Little (QUT Biomechanics and Spine Research Group) and Mr Daniel Green (Research & Development Manager, Sealy of Australia). The twenty-five meeting attendees learned that the collaboration between QUT spine researchers and Sealy of Australia has allowed Brisbane Spine Orthopaedic Surgeon, Geoff Askin to successfully perform lengthy and technically difficult surgery on a number of complex cases (both children and adults) whose operations would otherwise not have been possible due to their complex or unstable medical conditions.