The Spine Section, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen has accumulated substantial experience in all aspects of modern spinal surgery. The clinical platform for this experience has been a clinical database established in 1995. The information obtained through this database made it possible to conduct clinical and biomechanical studies as well as research of inflammatory aspects in both general surgery, trauma and spine surgery. On the level of organization and improved patient flow the first single-stranded evaluation in Denmark of patients with metastatic affection of the spine was established at Rigshospitalet. The most recent research initiative has been the establishment of a bio bank, collecting DNA from patients undergoing spinal surgical procedures. The Spine Section has an extensive network, both nationally and internationally, including Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, Harvard Medical School and the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington DC. The Spine Section performs almost 500 advanced spine surgical procedures every year, and the staff consists of one professor, three associate professors and two assistant professors. Since 2007 the first clinical professor in spine surgery at the University of Copenhagen was appointed at the department.