Sophie Eydis

By 2019, Marc Pietropaoli, MD, had built an orthopedic practice with dozens of employees. But when he examined its finances, he discovered something troubling: The only profitable services were those insurance didn’t cover. For years, declining reimbursement had pushed him…

The most difficult part of building a great spine program may have little to do with surgery. It is getting patients through the door before weeks pass, knowing when an operation should be avoided, coordinating the teams required for the…

Gastroenterologists are now offered the highest average starting salary of any physician at $654,000, surpassing orthopedic surgeons, who had led the rankings for four consecutive years. Average starting salaries offered to orthopedic surgeons fell 12% year over year to $507,000,…

As spine malpractice verdicts reach eight figures, surgeons are becoming more cautious about patient selection, complex procedures and managing expectations, though some warn that fear of litigation can also limit access to necessary care. Several surgeons emphasized the importance of…

Excessive mental workload may affect surgical performance and patient safety, and wearable devices and other physiological monitoring could help researchers measure it, according to an article in the fall 2026 issue of Vertebral Columns. Measuring it in the operating room…

Expandable interbody cages restore disc height more reliably than static cages, but evidence on spinal alignment and subsidence is mixed, according to an article in the fall 2026 issue of Vertebral Columns. Four authors from the orthopedics department at New…

Spine surgeons adopting robotic-assisted and endoscopic techniques face widely varying learning curves, with research showing large differences in the number of procedures needed to achieve proficiency, according to an editorial published in the fall 2026 issue of Vertebral Columns. The…

For years, hand surgeons treating advanced thumb arthritis have relied on removing the arthritic trapezium to relieve pain. Replacing the damaged joint has offered another possibility, but implants have struggled to deliver reliable results. Now, a new generation of implants…

A spine surgeon who performs more procedures generates more relative value units. But what about one who prevents an unnecessary operation, reduces complications or gets patients to the right treatment faster? Those contributions can create significant value without necessarily generating…

As more patients taking GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic seek spine surgery, surgeons need to look beyond weight loss to consider how changes in muscle and bone quality could affect surgical outcomes, Jonathan Rasouli, MD, told Becker’s.  Dr. Rasouli, a…