The Congress, the 9th Annual Meeting of the German Spine Society, runs under the slogan ‘Spine surgery between quantity and quality’ and responds to the critical questions posed to us as spine surgeons. Here we will adopt a clear scientific position and present ourselves as an advocate of the patient and his suffering of spinal disorders.

This will be the first time that the congress has been held in East Germany. Leipzig has a long tradition as a trade faire and congress city. It also has one of the oldest universities in Germany, which celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2009. In the recent past Leipzig gained importance because of the Leipzig Monday demonstrations that played a key role at the start of the Peaceful Revolution in 1989 and the later reunification of Germany.

Leipzig is a beautiful old town, with the old town hall and the traditional marketplace being particular highlights. The latter is a special attraction to visitors during the advent season when it turns into a traditional Christmas market.

I would like to invite all participants to share in an interesting and innovative congress.

For further information about the congress please visit www.dwg.org. Please note, this is a German-speaking event.

Programme
Programme committee
Head: Ralph Kothe (Hamburg)
Christoph-Eckhard Heyde (Leipzig)
Christoph Josten (Leipzig)
Frank Kandziora (Frankfurt)
Ralph Kayser (Berlin)
Heiko Koller (Bad Wildungen)
Michael Rauschmann (Frankfurt)
Klaus-Dieter Schaser (Berlin)
Hendrik Schmidt (Berlin)
Christoph Siepe (Munich)
Michael Stoffel (Krefeld)
Michael Winking (Osnabru?ck)Main topics
Basic research and experimental spinal medicine
Conservative treatment
Degeneration
Deformity
Trauma
Destructive spine diseases (Tumour/Metastasis/Inflammation)
Geriatric spinal medicineOrganisation
Conventus Congressmanagement & Marketing GmbH
Contact Justus G. Appelt or Dirk Eichelberger
T: +49 3641 31 16-311/-305
E: dwg@conventus.de
W: www.conventus.de
Discover Leipzig
If you have any time out while at the DWG Conference why not use it to explore the city. Leipzig is a charming city where great art can be enjoyed just a few steps away from an exciting world of outdoor activities. With a history going back almost 1000 years, this Saxon metropolis has earned more than a few claims to fame – as a city of music, of commerce, of heroes; as the site of the Peaceful Revolution; as Little Paris, Athens on the River Pleisse and the Venice of the North.

Leipzig Christmas Market

Leipzig Weihnachtsmarkt - Market
Leipzig Weihnachtsmarkt – Market

During the Christmas season, the market and its adjacent squares and streets are decked out in true seasonal style – visit a fairytale forest, take the chance to meet Father Christmas and enjoy town musicians performing in the tower of the Old City Hall.

The Leipzig Opera
The Leipzig Opera comprises opera, musical comedy and the Leipzig Ballet. It is the third-oldest civic musical theatre in Europe, and has an outstanding international reputation based on performances by leading soloists, the Gewandhaus orchestra under Ricardo Chailly, an award-winning choir, and the Leipzig Ballet featuring enduring choreographic tradition inspired by Uwe Schulz.

Spinnerei
Leipzig’s dynamic art scene enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide. Its prime site, Spinnerei, was formerly the largest cotton mill of continental Europe. Since being decommissioned in 1992, the factory has been subject to constant change. Artists have developed the cotton mill into a real cosmos of art, with Neo Rauch one of the pioneers of the Spinnerei’s revitalisation.

The Mendelssohn House
The Leipzig Mendelssohn House is the only surviving residence of the composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who died in Leipzig in 1847. Today it is a museum and contains a small music room.

Leipzig Zoo
Leipzig Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the world. It also has one of the most extensive collections of diverse species, and features ‘Pongoland’, the biggest ape enclosure in the world; the temple of elephants; and an African savannah-themed area.

A network of waterways

Leipzig Stadthafen - Bootstouren
Leipzig Stadthafen – Bootstouren

Unspoiled rivers and watercourses link up the city of Leipzig to the newly emerging lakes round about. Leipzig New Lakeland can be explored by canoe or rowing boat on eight main trails with a total length of 200 kilometres.