Author: Alan Condon

From fighting to maintain access to innovative technologies to pushing back against reimbursement cuts and increasing payer hurdles, the concerns of spine surgeons are many.

From seeing the expression on their patients' faces after surgery to the day after a haul of elective cases and completing rounds on a Saturday morning, six spine surgeons share their favorite part of the week:

Hospitals continue to lose spine procedures to the outpatient setting as CMS and commercial payers look to reduce healthcare costs and minimally invasive technologies allow for shorter surgeries with fewer complications.

Kim Mikes, BSN, RN, has been appointed CEO of Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, Calif.

Neurosurgeon Vijay Yanamadala, MD, made history on Oct. 1 when he became the first surgeon to perform an awake spinal fusion in New England.

A civil lawsuit that alleged a NYU Langone orthopedic surgeon set his office manager up for a charge of grand larceny has been thrown out by a Manhattan judge, The Madison Leader Gazette reported Oct. 2.

Carlsmed's newly launched patient-specific spine implant, Aprevo, has been granted the New Technology Add-On Payment by CMS.

Jeff Cambra, a medtech executive who spent 12 years at Medtronic and most recently worked for Zimmer Biomet, has been appointed CEO of SpinaFX Medical, a Toronto-based minimally invasive image-guided therapy startup.

In September, a Connecticut neurosurgeon became the second in the world to perform spine surgery with a newly approved patient-specific implant, which he believes can reduce complications and achieve superior outcomes over traditional implants. 

A spine surgeon's career can be highly rewarding, both personally and financially, but the road to get there is not easy, and there are many factors to consider before deciding on a surgical specialty.