Douglas C. Burton, M.D., the past Peltier/Reckling Professor and Chair and current Marc and Elinor Asher Spine Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Kansas Health System, has been recognized with the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors a member for distinguished service to the SRS, as well as significant contributions to spinal deformity care.
Douglas C. Burton, M.D. Receives SRS Lifetime Achievement Award
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Dr. Burton earned his undergraduate degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, and his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. He completed his orthopedic residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center and completed spine fellowships at The Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas, and at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He joined the KU School of Medicine faculty in 2000.
Active in the SRS since 2004, Dr. Burton is the current Research Council Chair and a member of the Executive Committee. At the SRS Annual Meeting and the International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques, he has been honored with the Hibbs, Goldstein, Moe, and Whitecloud Awards.
Dr. Burton’s research interests include the development of disease specific health related quality of life instruments and the study of complications and outcomes associated with spinal deformity surgery. He has authored or co-authored over 300 peer reviewed publications and serves as a Deputy Editor of Spine Deformity, the official journal of the Scoliosis Research Society.
“Having this award bear my name is so meaningful to me,” stated Dr. Burton to OTW. “Adult spinal deformity has been the focus of my academic career for 25 years; to be honored by my peers in the Journal I have been active in since its inception is incredibly humbling.”
“I think that flexible fixation is an exciting technique that we need to study more. While there have been a number of studies in adolescents, more are needed. It is a priority of the SRS, certainly.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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