Wajeeh Bakhsh, MD, joined Franciscan Physician Network in Michigan City, Ind.

Denver neurosurgeon Brent Kimball, MD, is among three people and a neuromonitoring business resolving kickback allegations for more than $2 million total, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado.

John Dorman, MD, a neurosurgeon at Medical Center Health System in Odessa, Texas, has begun using the Apple Vision Pro AR headset for procedures, according to a Dec. 3 report from OA Online.

Two legal cases involving spine surgeons and implants were settled in the last seven days.

Neurosurgeon Alexander Taghva, MD, introduced focused ultrasound at his practice in Orange County, Calif., according to a Dec. 3 news release.

Southern California Orthopedic Institute added George Wahba, MD, according to a Dec. 2 Instagram post.

Single-level spinal fusions saw similar patient-reported outcomes after a year at an orthopedic specialty hospital and a tertiary referral center, according to a study in the December 2024 issue of The Spine Journal.

Spine technologies are gaining traction, especially among early-career surgeons, but not all of them have strong payer coverage, Ali Mesiwala, MD, said. 

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons have urged Congress to pass a bill that would halt the scheduled physician payment cut.

A Texas neurosurgeon settled allegations he billed Medicare for spine procedures he didn't perform, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas said Nov. 27.

Surgeons at the Flagstaff (Ariz.) Bone & Joint ASC completed the first OsteoPearl allograft implant procedure.

From disc replacement to Ozempic, Becker's reported on eight key spine and orthopedic studies since Oct. 28.

Overhead remains a constant challenge for spine surgeons who also want to balance that with practice growth. 

Cayden Lindstrom, a top prospect for the Columbus Blue Jackets, had a minimally invasive microdiscectomy in Los Angeles, NHL.com reported Nov. 20.

Newark, Del.-based Christiana Spine Ambulatory Surgical Center has partnered with Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health. 

Many of the major breakthroughs in spine surgery were the result of gradual advancements over time, John Peloza, MD, said.

Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County in Middleburg, Fla., added advance spine surgery services, Jax Daily Record reported Nov. 19. 

Indianapolis-based OrthoIndy treated the first patients with Theradaptive's OsteoAdapt SP spinal fusion implant as part of an ongoing clinical trial.

The hospital with the most unnecessary spinal fusions had an overuse rate of 62.8%%, while hospitals with lower rates were under 4%, according to a report from the Lown Institute.

The hospital with the most unnecessary vertebroplasties had an overuse rate of 55.5%, while many of the hospitals with lower rates were at 0%, according to a report from the Lown Institute.