ISMISS was conceived in occasion of the GIEDA-BRUXELLES Meeting in 1988 and structurally organized as a non-profit organization in 1989 under the leadership of Professor Parviz Kambin, Philadelphia, first President of ISMISS, in collaboration with his European counterparts, Professor Adam Schreiber (Zurich), and the Asian pioneer Professor Sadahisa Hijikata (Tokyo).

Further they were supported by european pioneers as Professor Mario Brock, Berlin, PD Dr. Hansjoerg Leu, Zurich and Dr. Jan Sheppard, Hastings. Thus the term, „minimally invasive spinal surgery“ was coined. ISMISS has held regular biannual ISMISS symposiums in Philadelphia (USA) and annual meetings in Zurich (Switzerland) already running since the mid-eighties.