Dear Colleagues and SSSP Members,

It is a great honour and privilege for me to assume the responsibility as the President of the Society of Spine Surgeons of Pakistan (SSSP). It is not a one-man show and it’s a team effort with friends and colleagues from home and abroad and I am sure that, with all your help and active involvement, our society will make tremendous strides in the future.

Although the COVID pandemic posed major challenges on many fronts, we have exhibited resilience and innovation to excel in all the activities of Spinal forums through webinars and workshops. I congratulate everyone for rising up to the crisis and continuing to provide the best care through both academics and skill enhancement.

As the world around us continues the rollercoaster ride that started last year, SSSP will continue to innovate and explore new methods to re-engage and re-connect to you. We would like to invite you to stay curious to explore and receive, as we strive to bring you a novel and worthwhile educational experience albeit online/hybrid mode.

SSSP will continue to collaborate with the North American Spine Society and other advanced organization programs.  I anticipate we will engage with NASS fellowship training programs to bring an official designation to our spine surgery subspecialty, one both orthopaedic and neurosurgeons have been refining for many years.

Aim and Mission: 

• To improve international collaboration between SSSP and other regional organizations with respect to Education, Research, Experience, and Training. 

• Fellowship and trainee exchanges, surgical attachments, attract attendance to National & International specialty meetings, speakers for Plenary Lectures, workshops & Symposiums, etc.

• To disseminate spine surgery skills to regional levels with the aim to develop regional centers of excellence at District/Division levels.

• To encourage local spine publications especially journals to publish research and indigenous innovations. 

My aim is the aim of SSSP which is very well explained – nonpolitical achievements of academic excellence, support, top-class training, providing opportunities and facilities for training at all levels of professional expertise. 

“ALTAPETE” achieves the highest”.

In the meantime, I hope you will continue to stay safe, and I look forward to meeting you in person soon.

Please continue to take good care of yourselves and your families.

Prof. Muhammad Tariq Sohail

MBBS, M.Ch. Orth, FRCS (Edin), FRCS (Glas), FICS 

President,

Society of Spine Surgeons of Pakistan