British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) - Free papers and cord injuries

10.30am – 12pm BST, 24 September 2026 ‐ 1 hour 30 mins

Room: Quanta

Specialist Society

This session will include presentation of selected abstracts in spine surgery. It will also cover acute presentation of traumatic and malignancy related cord compromise.

Chair: Balaji Purushothaman & Chris Hoffman

10:30 - 11:00 Free paper session

11.00 - 11:30 Zacharia Silk, Spinal consultant surgeon

Spinal cord injury

11.30 - 12:00 Zacharia Silk, Spinal consultant surgeon

MSCC

Speakers

Zacharia Silk

Consultant Spinal Surgeon, Evelina London Children's Hospital

Find out more

Chris Hoffman

President, New Zealand Orthopaedic Association

Find out more

Balaji Purushothaman

Zacharia Silk

Consultant Spinal Surgeon, Evelina London Children's Hospital

Mr Zacharia Silk is a Consultant Spinal Surgeon at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He specialises in the treatment of spinal deformity in children and adolescents, with interests in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and complex paediatric spinal conditions, including neuromuscular and syndromic scoliosis. He trained and worked in London and Oxford, and completed subspecialty fellowships in the UK, including the National Spine Fellowship in Leeds, Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, as well as in the USA. He is passionate about education, clinical leadership, improving communication with children and families, and supporting the next generation of spinal surgeons.

Chris Hoffman

President, New Zealand Orthopaedic Association

Chris Hoffman is an Orthopaedic Spine surgeon. He is the President of the New Orthopaedic Association and has recently retired as RACS Senior Orthopaedic Examiner for New Zealand. He has a long interest in the management of back pain, both non-operative and operative having completed Fellowships in Trauma and

Spine at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto in 1994 and 1995. He established The Back Institute (now TBI Health Group) in 2001, it is now a nationwide programme of 52 clinics and as the Medical Director, he has overseen the development of pathways for assessment and management of back pain in the community. He completed the Institute of Directors (IoD) Directors course in 2012.

He operates at Southern Cross Hospital Wellington in the private sector and at Wellington Regional Hospital in the public sector, having served as Clinical Leader in the past. He remains on the Active Reserve of the NZ Army at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Married to Sally, they have four adult children and two grandchildren. His lifelong passion for flying has him now instructing as his local flying club and enjoys flying his family about the country in their Cessna 206.