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Coming soon Robotics

The Robotics Revolution in Spine Surgery: What's Real, What's Hype

SSF faculty break down FDA-cleared robotic systems, accuracy data from 3,400 cases, and what surgeons actually report after the learning curve.

Coming soon CME Spotlight

Endoscopic Spine: 12 CME Credits, Zero Time Off

A complete guide to SSF's upcoming endoscopic course series, objectives, faculty roster, and how to claim ACCME credits from a live or on-demand format.

Coming soon Innovation

Cadaveric Lab Design in 2026: What's Changed and Why It Matters

How SSF's BioSkills Lab redesign improved throughput, broadcast quality, and hands-on time for residents, with data from 200+ training sessions.

Every issue

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For surgeons.

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Faculty Case Studies

Real operative decisions from attending surgeons

  • Real cases from the SSF OR or a partner program, no hypotheticals
  • Anatomy, approach, and intraop decisions, as they actually happened
  • Peer-to-peer, vendor-free, zero sponsored content
From the archive

"Level 4 lumbar decompression via posterior midline: why our attending chose fluoroscopy over navigation at the last second."

SSF NEWSLETTER · SAMPLE ISSUE Neurosurgery

L4-L5 Posterior Decompression: When the Plan Changes in the OR

A 54-year-old male, active smoker, BMI 32. Pre-op MRI shows Grade 1 spondylolisthesis with severe central canal stenosis. The question in the room: laminectomy alone, or instrumented fusion? Our attending walks through the intraop finding that changed the answer.

SSF FacultyCase of the Month · sample format 7 min read
Research and Innovation

What's changing in your specialty before your journal club

  • SSF-filtered publications, FDA clearances, and emerging tech
  • Synthesized for the OR, not the lab, 7 minutes, no filler
  • Peer-reviewed and cross-checked before it reaches your inbox
From the archive

"Endoscopic vs. open TLIF: 5-year functional outcomes across 847 patients at UW, Mayo, and Duke. What the data actually says."

SSF RESEARCH BRIEF · SPINE FDA Watch
Endoscopic TLIF
82%
Open TLIF
79%
Reoperation rate
3.2%

Endoscopic vs. Open TLIF: 5-Year Outcomes Across 847 Patients

UW, Mayo Clinic, and Duke. Primary endpoint: ODI at 24 months. Comparable improvement, significantly lower reoperation in the endoscopic cohort.

SSF Research DigestSynthesized from JAAOS, Spine, Neurosurgery 6 min read
CME Credits and Courses

Early access to every accredited live event

  • 48-hour subscriber priority before public registration opens
  • ACCME-accredited live events, cadaveric labs, and webinars
  • Credit hours, spots remaining, and direct links every issue
From the archive

"Robotics Live Lab, June 2026 · 6 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ · 8 spots remaining at time of sending."

SSF EVENTS · SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS CME
JUN 14

Robotics Live Lab

SSF Simulation Center · Shoreline, WA

6 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
8 of 32 spots remaining

Subscriber early access sent 48 hours before public registration. This event filled within 6 hours of public opening in 2025.

ACCME Accredited Provider SSF CME OfficeACCME Accredited Provider Priority access

Issue Archive

Second Opinion: one popular medical claim per issue, taken apart with its sources.

7 issues more coming soon

  1. Issue No. 01 A glass of wine is good for your heart. It is not. The dip in the curve was never real. Here is what put it there.
  2. Issue No. 02 Fish oil protects your heart. At the dose in the bottle, it does not. The studies everyone cites measured diet and blood. They never measured hearts.
  3. Issue No. 03 Eggs raise your cholesterol. By about eight points. The animal it was tested in cannot get rid of cholesterol at all. People can.
  4. Issue No. 04 C-reactive protein damages your arteries. It does not. The number is honest. It is just made in the wrong organ to be the cause.
  5. Issue No. 05 A daily aspirin prevents your first heart attack. It does not. Nothing was wrong with the drug. Something was wrong with the day the counting stopped.
  6. Issue No. 06 A few minutes on the stairs does not count. It does. People forget a quick climb up the stairs, and for decades exercise studies relied on their memories.
  7. Issue No. 07 Cut 500 calories a day and you will lose a pound a week. For a while. Even with every meal controlled, people lost about a quarter less than the math promised.
  8. Issue No. 08Coming soon More issues are on the way. Get each new one first on Substack, just below.
seattlesciencefoundation.substack.com

The next claim,
on Substack.

One popular medical claim per issue, taken apart with its sources. Free to read, free to subscribe.

Opens Substack with your email filled in: one click to confirm.

· 6 min read C-reactive protein damages your arteries. It does not. The protein is built in the liver, on an order the artery sent two steps earlier. Telling the smoke from the fire took 194,418 people and a method borrowed from genetics. Read on Substack
All issues Second Opinion
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