Names in the programme record: Host faculty at the selected AO centre
Profile completeness87%
Comprehensive · Missing faculty profile
DECISION SUMMARY
Key facts at a glance
Eligibility
Entry requirements published; check international conditions
Funding
Country-adjusted stipend based on USD 550 per week in the United States, paid in Swiss-franc equivalents; it may not cover all living costs. Fellows pay travel and insurance.
Deadline
May 2027 (exact day not published)
Duration
4–12 weeks
Hands-on
Unclear — confirm privileges
Clinical exposureSpine training at a selected AO host centre; operative participation, observation, case mix, research and teaching exposure differ by host and local credentialing
Participation levelClinical participation and hands-on restrictions must be confirmed directly with the host.
Destination14 countries · choose one centre
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT CHECK
Can an international surgeon apply?
≈Partially published
International applicants
Open to orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons and trauma surgeons with a strong interest in spine surgery who have at least two years of AO Spine membership, are up to 45 years old at application and have not taken part in a Spine Fellowship in the past two years (except self-funded); English proficiency is required. A separate LATAM Associate Fellow programme is limited to Latin American members.
?Confirm directly with host
Clinical role
Clinical or combined training pathway; exact duties remain appointment-specific. Hands-on participation and operative restrictions are not explicitly published.
≈Partially published
Medical registration
The host centre determines the permitted clinical role. AO Spine host-centre status does not replace any licence or hospital credential required locally.
—Not published
Language
No formal language requirement is published by the cited source.
≈Partially published
Visa or work authorisation
Travel, visa and insurance arrangements remain the fellow's responsibility unless the selected host confirms otherwise.
DATA QUALITY & AVAILABILITY86% of core application fields verifiedChecked 2026-10-08 · Next scheduled editorial review: 2027-04-01
✓ programme title✓ institution / department✓ city and country✓ programme classification✓ subspecialty✓ current status evidence✓ duration✓ positions✓ commencement / intake✓ funding✓ benefits✓ accommodation / relocation✓ eligibility✓ international eligibility✓ registration✓ visa / work authorisation✓ deadline✓ application process✓ required documents✓ application portal✓ faculty✓ verified institution logo✓ official source✓ accreditation / organisation source✓ verification date— Language requirement not published · not published by the cited official source— official contact · not published by the cited official source— Verified faculty photograph not available · not published by the cited official source— institutional source · not published by the cited official source
AVAILABLE LOCATIONS
Choose an AO fellowship host centre
This is one application pathway, not 32 repeated fellowship cards. Select a hospital or university centre below; timing, clinical participation, fees and acceptance depend on the host.
Exposure: Adult and paediatric deformity, degeneration, infection, oncology, fragility fractures and spinal trauma, with open, endoscopic, robotic, minimally invasive and navigated surgery
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 400 per week for China; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: Chinese. The host rates team English 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The host states that no additional licence is required for scrub-in; final privileges remain subject to hospital confirmation and government rules.
Host profile: The AO profile reports 330 orthopaedic beds and approximately 11,000 operations per year with broad open, endoscopic, robotic, minimally invasive and navigation capability.
Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital / Nanjing University Medical School
⌖ Nanjing · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Comprehensive spine surgery with major deformity and scoliosis exposure, open and endoscopic techniques, robotics, minimally invasive surgery, navigation, academic meetings and scoliosis courses
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 400 per week for China; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: Chinese. The host rates team English 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The host states that fellows may act as operating assistants without a special licence; the final permitted role must be confirmed with the hospital.
Host profile: AO lists an 182-bed spine department performing approximately 4,000 operations annually, with robotics, navigation, endoscopy and a recurring national scoliosis meeting.
Exposure: Comprehensive open, endoscopic, robotic, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and thoracoscopic spine surgery with meetings and educational courses
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 400 per week for China; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: Chinese. The host rates team English 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The host states that no additional licence is required for scrub-in; final privileges remain subject to hospital confirmation.
Host profile: AO lists a 160-bed orthopaedic department at West China Hospital with approximately 4,000 surgical cases per year and a wide spectrum of modern spine techniques.
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University
⌖ Guangzhou · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Adult and paediatric deformity, degeneration, infection, oncology, fragility fractures and spinal trauma, with open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior and thoracoscopic surgery
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 400 per week for China; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: Chinese. The host rates team English 4/5 written and 3/5 spoken.
Clinical role: The host requires a licence for practising for scrub-in; applicants must confirm the exact credential and permitted role directly with the hospital.
Host profile: The AO host profile describes an 82-bed spine department with approximately 2,400 annual operations and broad deformity, degenerative, tumour, trauma and infection exposure.
East Tallinn Central Hospital Spine Surgery Center
⌖ Tallinn · 4–12 weeks through the AO Spine pathway
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks through the AO Spine pathway
Exposure: Scrub-in exposure at a 12-bed spine centre reporting 600 annual cases, including open, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and robotic techniques
Funding / fees: AO provides a country-adjusted contribution toward accommodation and living costs; travel and insurance are self-funded
Language: Operating-room language is Estonian; the host rates written and spoken team English 4/5
Clinical role: The host profile states no additional licence is required to scrub in; final participation remains subject to hospital and local approval.
Exposure: Adult and paediatric deformity, degeneration, infection, oncology, fragility fractures and trauma across QMH and DKCH, with clinics, grand rounds, on-call exposure, research and hands-on operating described by the host
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 348 per week for Hong Kong; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: English. The host rates team English 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The host describes hands-on operating and clinical duties, which require the hospital and Hong Kong authorities to confirm the appropriate appointment and registration before participation.
Host profile: HKU's AO Spine centre spans Queen Mary Hospital and Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital, combining acute and elective adult and paediatric spine care with deformity clinics, research cohorts and academic meetings.
Showa Medical University Hospital Spine Surgery Center
⌖ Shinagawa, Tokyo · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior and navigated spine surgery, department and research conferences, plus optional observation at affiliated hospitals in Tokyo, Gifu and Fukushima
Funding / fees: AO Spine stipend contribution may apply after competitive selection; the current Japan amount is not stated on the cited host profile
Language: Operating-room language: Japanese; host-reported English proficiency is 3/5 written and spoken.
Clinical role: The AO profile permits scrub-in and states that no additional special licence is required; final activity remains subject to hospital approval.
Host profile: A 50-bed spine centre reporting approximately 350 operations per year and multidisciplinary clinical and research conferences.
Okayama Rosai Hospital, Department of Orthopedic Surgery
⌖ Okayama · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and intradural spine surgery, including pain techniques, C-arm-free methods, OLIF51, neuromonitoring and navigation-assisted endoscopy
Funding / fees: AO Spine stipend contribution may apply after competitive selection; the current Japan amount is not stated on the cited host profile
Language: Operating-room language: English; host-reported English proficiency is 4/5 written and spoken.
Clinical role: The hospital states that it can obtain a temporary Japanese medical licence for selected spine fellows and permits scrub-in; scope remains subject to that approval.
Host profile: The host reports 359 orthopaedic beds and approximately 520 spine operations annually, with unusually broad endoscopic, navigation and intradural capability.
Hamamatsu University Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
⌖ Hamamatsu, Shizuoka · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Open, robotic, anterior, navigated and intradural spine surgery across adult and paediatric deformity, degeneration, infection, oncology, fragility fracture and trauma, including thoracic OPLL exposure
Funding / fees: AO Spine stipend contribution may apply after competitive selection; the current Japan amount is not stated on the cited host profile
Language: Operating-room language: Japanese; host-reported English proficiency is 4/5 written and spoken.
Clinical role: The AO profile permits scrub-in and states that no additional special licence is required; final activity remains subject to hospital approval.
Host profile: A 48-bed academic orthopaedic service reporting approximately 500 operations annually, with robotic, navigation, anterior and intradural techniques.
Toyama University Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
⌖ Toyama · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Open, endoscopic, robotic, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and intradural spine surgery, with pain-management techniques and broad pathology exposure
Funding / fees: AO Spine stipend contribution may apply; the host separately lists a USD 1,000 administration fee to prepare scrub-in
Language: Operating-room language: English; host-reported English proficiency is 5/5 written and spoken.
Clinical role: The AO profile permits scrub-in and states that no additional special licence is required, subject to the host's USD 1,000 preparation fee and hospital approval.
Host profile: A 40-bed academic service reporting approximately 300 spine operations annually and one of the strongest published English environments among Japan's AO hosts.
Amsterdam UMC Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine
⌖ Amsterdam · Not published by cited source
Centre details
Duration: Not published by cited source
Exposure: Adult and paediatric deformity, degeneration, oncology and trauma
Funding / fees: Not published by cited source
Language: Language information not published
Clinical role: Registration and hands-on restrictions must be confirmed with the host
Host profile: Amsterdam UMC's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery combines clinical, basic and applied research with a particular emphasis on sports-related disorders and ankle pathology, alongside oncology and paediatric orthopaedics.
Tygerberg Academic Hospital / Stellenbosch University
⌖ Cape Town · Placement length set through the AO Spine fellowship pathway
Centre details
Duration: Placement length set through the AO Spine fellowship pathway
Exposure: Supervised scrub-in across open, minimally invasive and anterior spine surgery, tuberculosis and pain management, with access to an advanced cadaver laboratory
Funding / fees: Funding and living support depend on the AO Spine fellowship award; the host profile does not publish a separate hospital stipend
Language: English is the operating-room language and is rated at the highest published proficiency level by the host team.
Clinical role: Health Professions Council of South Africa registration is required for scrub-in and active clinical participation.
Host profile: The Tygerberg orthopaedic department publishes 135 beds and approximately 350 spine surgical cases annually. It is an academic training site linked to Stellenbosch University and includes cadaver-lab facilities.
Gangnam Severance Spine Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery
⌖ Seoul · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Approximately 2,000 annual operations spanning cervical, open thoracolumbar, tumour, deformity, minimally invasive and UBE spine surgery, plus daily conferences and fellow presentations
Funding / fees: AO Spine stipend contribution may apply; the host publishes a USD 100 administration fee
Language: Operating-room and conference language is Korean; slides are in English and discussion in English is possible. Host-rated English is 2/5 written and 3/5 spoken.
Clinical role: Scrub-in requires a medical-doctor licence acceptable to the host and hospital approval.
Host profile: A dedicated academic spine hospital with 68 neurosurgical beds, seven spine faculty and approximately 2,000 operations per year.
Exposure: Open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior and navigated spine surgery across deformity, degeneration, infection, tumour, paediatric deformity and fragility fractures, with weekly tumour board and spine conferences
Funding / fees: AO Spine stipend contribution may apply after competitive selection; the amount is not stated on the cited host profile
Language: Operating-room language: Korean; host-reported English proficiency is 4/5 written and spoken.
Clinical role: The hospital runs the placement under its foreign-fellow educational observership rules. Although the AO profile marks scrub-in as available, applicants must confirm the permitted activity directly with Samsung.
Host profile: A 40-bed orthopaedic spine division reporting approximately 400 operations annually, supported by weekly tumour board, multidisciplinary case conference and spine book review.
University Spine Center Zurich, Balgrist University Hospital
⌖ Zurich · Not published by cited source
Centre details
Duration: Not published by cited source
Exposure: Scrub-in, complex spine surgery and research campus access
Funding / fees: Not published by cited source
Language: German is the dominant language in the operating room; the AO host profile rates the team's English as 5/5 written and spoken
Clinical role: The AO host profile distinguishes observation from active clinical participation; scrub-in or active surgery requires the authorisation accepted by the Swiss host.
Bern University Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
⌖ Bern · Not published by cited source
Centre details
Duration: Not published by cited source
Exposure: Scrub-in at a 65-bed AO Spine host reporting about 900 operations annually, with open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior and navigated spine surgery, research activity and optional on-call exposure
Funding / fees: Not published by cited source
Language: German is the operating-room language; the AO host profile rates staff English proficiency 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The AO profile records scrub-in and does not list a separate special licence; clinical participation still requires host approval and compliance with Swiss rules.
Host profile: Inselspital's spine service provides adult and paediatric spine care in a university-hospital setting. The official AO profile reports 65 beds, approximately 900 annual operations and a broad open and minimally invasive case mix.
HOCH Health Ostschweiz, Interdisciplinary Spine Centre
⌖ St. Gallen · Not published by cited source
Centre details
Duration: Not published by cited source
Exposure: AO Spine-hosted observational attachment with interdisciplinary boards, teaching, simulator training and research exposure; scrub-in or clinical participation is considered case by case and usually limited to candidates who can satisfy EU/EFTA and hospital requirements
Funding / fees: AO Spine may support organisation or funding according to its fellowship rules; the host page does not publish a guaranteed amount
Language: German is the operating-room language; the AO host profile rates staff English proficiency 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The default pathway is observational. Any scrub-in or clinical participation is assessed individually against licence, human-resources and Swiss requirements and is usually feasible only for EU/EFTA candidates.
Host profile: The HOCH Spine Centre reports 30 beds and approximately 1,400 operations annually, with broad open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and intradural practice.
Exposure: Scrub-in at a 25-bed AO Spine host reporting about 1,200 operations annually, with open, endoscopic, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and intradural surgery plus clinical and basic research
Funding / fees: Not published by cited source
Language: German is the operating-room language; the AO host profile rates staff English proficiency 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The AO profile records scrub-in and does not list a separate special licence; all active participation remains subject to host and Swiss authorisation.
Host profile: University Hospital Basel's DKBN spinal-surgery service combines interdisciplinary clinical care with research in biomechanics, tissue engineering and disc degeneration.
Exposure: Observational spine surgery across open, endoscopic, robotic, minimally invasive, anterior, navigated and thoracoscopic techniques, plus weekly spine conferences and the annual August cadaveric workshop
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 500 per week for Taiwan; host administrative fee NTD 1,500 per course; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: English. The host rates team English 4/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The centre states that fellows may observe surgery but may not perform it; no additional licence is required for that observer role.
Host profile: The official AO profile lists a 68-bed orthopaedic service with 818 annual operations, advanced open and minimally invasive techniques, weekly teaching conferences and an annual cadaveric course.
National Taiwan University Hospital Spine Tumor Center
⌖ Taipei · 4–12 weeks
Centre details
Duration: 4–12 weeks
Exposure: Spine tumour, deformity, degeneration, infection, fragility fracture and trauma care with open, endoscopic, robotic, minimally invasive and navigated techniques, multidisciplinary tumour meetings and grand rounds
Funding / fees: 2026 AO Spine contribution: CHF 500 per week for Taiwan; host tuition fee NTD 10,000 per month; travel and insurance remain self-funded
Language: Operating-room language: English. The host rates team English 5/5 for written and spoken communication.
Clinical role: The host accepts a home-country medical licence for scrub-in according to its AO profile; final hospital privileges must still be confirmed.
Host profile: NTUH's AO listing describes a 106-bed spine tumour service with approximately 1,400 annual cases, multidisciplinary meetings and advanced endoscopic, robotic and navigation capability.
Centre names and hosts are taken from the cited official network and host profiles. Availability can change; submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance or a particular clinical role.
APPLICATION TIMELINE & CONTACT
Plan the application
Application deadlineMay 2027 (exact day not published)
Commencing dateOpen call April 2027, close call May 2027, results September 2027, for the 2028 fellowship programme (4–12 week fellowships).
Application route / cycle2027 call closed. 2028 programme: open call April 2027, close call May 2027, results September 2027; fellowships 4–12 weeks.
Official contactNo programme-specific contact published
Spine physician or orthopaedic, neurosurgery or trauma specialist with a strong spine interest
Participation in at least one AO course or event
At least two years of AO Spine membership before application
No AO Spine fellowship in the preceding two years, except a self-funded fellowship
Up to 45 years old at application
Application documents
Published by official source
Motivation letter
Curriculum vitae with publication list
Medical or specialist diploma
Most recent AO Spine course or event certificate
One recommendation letter from a senior surgeon
Passport copy
English-proficiency certificate or self-statement
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
What this program offers
One consolidated directory listing for AO Spine Fellowship Network. Choose a host centre below to review its published duration, clinical role, funding, fees, requirements, faculty and official source before applying through AO.
Intended for: Spine physicians or trained orthopaedic, neurosurgery or trauma surgeons who meet AO Spine membership, event and selection criteria
BENEFITS & SUPPORT
Published benefits and support
The stipend is only a contribution toward accommodation, travel and meals and may not cover all costs; the AO does not arrange accommodation in the host country, and travel and insurance costs must be covered entirely by the fellow.
ACCOMMODATION & RELOCATION
Published housing information
✓ Official source mentions accommodation
⌂
Fellows arrange their own accommodation; AO Spine does not book it. The stipend contributes to living and accommodation costs.
HOST INSTITUTION
About AO Spine Fellowship Host Centers
AO Spine Fellowship Host Centers form a multi-country training network. OrthoFellow consolidates the pathway into one directory listing while retaining a separate evidence-based profile for every indexed hospital or university centre.
The cited evidence does not provide a programme-specific faculty roster that OrthoFellow can safely publish. Open the official source or submit an institutional correction; names and portraits are never inferred from department membership.
Help us understand which pages are useful. Google Analytics stays off unless you allow it. Declining does not affect access to OrthoFellow. Privacy policy
