Insights and Innovations from AO Spine Asia Pacific Challenges in Developing Countries 

This book on Challenges in Developing Countries is dedicated to the work AO Spine members perform in less privileged countries where the luxury of advanced instrumentation and health care is not readily available. With the support of AO Spine, we provide the necessary principles of spine care to these areas. However, without modern technology, many spine experts residing in these countries have come up with ingenious alternatives. The showcased chapters highlight the modified approaches surgeons can take to manage these complex disorders while retaining a suitable, if not equal, outcome.

This book provides insight into the unique opportunities of outreach for our membership. The content will be engaging as there is tremendous potential for growth and development.

About the Author

• Jason Pui Yin Cheung, MBBS, MMedSc, MS, PDipMDPath, MD, MEd, FHKAM (Orth), FRCSEd (Orth), FHKCOS, joined the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, HKU in November 2012 and was promoted to Clinical Associate Professor with early tenure in 2018 and subsequently to Clinical Professor in 2023. He is serving as the Department Chairperson since December 2021. He will serve as the AO Spine Asia Pacific Regional Board Chairperson from 2025 to 2028. He is an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in spine surgery. His major research areas include basic and clinical research of pediatric and adult spinal deformities, degenerative lumbar conditions and spinal stenosis, skeletal growth, and artificial intelligence and modeling. He has served as the AO Spine Regional Research Chairman and is currently the Senior Editor of Spine Deformity, Frontiers in Pediatrics, and BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.

• Daisuke Sakai, MD, PhD, is currently appointed as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tokai University School of Medicine in Kanagawa, Japan. Dr. Sakai’s clinical interest is in the pathology of degenerative spine disease and management of spinal deformity including adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, adult spinal deformity, and functional rehabilitation. He is also serving as the head of the intervertebral disk research unit, which studies the biology and homeostasis of intervertebral disk cells, and potential of stem cell therapy for degenerative spine disease.

• Ajoy Prasad Shetty T., MBBS, MS (Orth), DNB (Orth), is a Senior Consultant in the Department of Orthopaedics Spine Surgery at Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. He is also currently the President-Elect of Association of Spine Surgeons of India and the Educational Committee Chairman of the Asia Pacific Spine Society. He is serving as the AO Spine Asia Pacific Community Development Officer since 2025.