Author: Alan Condon

An outpatient spine procedure to treat lumbar stenosis is now offered at Baystate Medical Center's pain management center in Springfield, Mass., WWLP.com reported June 21.

Carrell Clinic is celebrating 100 years since it was established by William Carrell, MD, the first orthopedic surgeon to practice in Dallas, according to the group.

The Mazor SpineAssist was the first robot approved by the FDA to guide the placement of pedicle screws in 2004. 

Justin Bundy, MD, performed the first augmented reality-assisted pediatric spine surgery in the country using Augmedics' Xvision spine system, according to The Augusta Chronicle.

Marie Meynadier, PhD, founder of EOS imaging, has been appointed as an independent director to the Alphatec board.

As surgical technologies continue to develop in spine, many surgeons are diving deeper into minimally invasive techniques, which are increasingly being performed in the outpatient setting.

From a revived lawsuit against a prominent commercial payer to a patent infringement case and a tainted spine product that may have gotten a patient sick, here are three spine cases that made headlines in the past month:

While CMS' decision last year to gradually phase out the inpatient-only list has been widely welcomed by the spine community, other regulatory changes related to reduced reimbursement and increased prior authorization requirements have not.

Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, N.Y., has become the first hospital in the region to offer the Mako SmartRobotics system for joint replacements, InformNY.com reported June 18.

The Bone & Joint Center in Albany, N.Y., saw patient volumes decrease by about half during the COVID-19 pandemic and still is seeing some reluctance from patients to resume care for orthopedic conditions, the Albany Business Review reported June 18.