Neurosurgeon Burak Ozgur, MD, has been honored for a philanthropic gesture that sent a 10-year-old child diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia to a Disney resort in Hawaii.

A private hospital in India treated a 92-year-old woman with endoscopic spine surgery, according to a Dec. 21 report from Tribune India.

Recent studies in The Spine Journal and The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine highlighted the advantages of single-position approaches to spinal fusion compared to the traditional open method.

Spine surgeon leaders from across the U.S. answer big questions about where the spine field is headed next year.

Here are the top-read articles from Becker's Spine Review from Dec. 14-18:

From new device debuts and recognitions, here are 19 spine surgeons making headlines this past week:

Adding a new spine procedure to a surgeon's arsenal can come with many challenges, including the learning curve, case selection, cost and reimbursement. Four spine surgeons share best practices to ensure great outcomes can be achieved right out of the gate.

Spine surgeons expect another challenging year in 2021 as they continue to weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and brace for significant cuts from CMS.

The first procedure with the Simplify cervical artificial disc has been completed by three spine surgeons of Texas Back Institute in Plano.

The U.S. Department of Justice continued its crackdown on unlawful kickback arrangements this year, with four big spine cases catching the attention of Becker's readers:

Humana has widened its coverage policies to include minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion using triangular titanium implants, which covers SI-Bone's iFuse system.

Patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs' spinal cord injury centers will be first to receive Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from the federal agency, Stars and Stripes reports.

Alexandre Rasouli, MD, reportedly performed the first spine surgery with Centinel Spine's new angled endplates intended for the prodisc L lumbar total disc replacement system.

Researchers from New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery are using a novel method for evaluating bone density that may be able to more accurately predict which patients would have poor outcomes after spinal fusion.

Physicians at Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich recently performed the first "holographically navigated" spine surgery with Microsoft's HoloLens 2 headset, according to a Dec. 14 report by TweakTown.

Thirteen spine surgeons share their outlook on the spine field in 2021 and what success will look like for their practice.

Two South Dakota spine practices merged to form The Spine Center at Black Hills Orthopedics, according to a December announcement.

Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale named neurosurgeon Guillermo Pasarin, MD, "Physician of the Quarter 2," Miami's Community Newspapers reports.

Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale named neurosurgeon Jessica Okun, DO, "Physician of the Quarter 1," according to South Florida Hospital News.

Becker's Spine Review has reported on five surgeons who have joined new practices in the past month: