Here are eight things for spine surgeons to know for Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. NASS defends appropriate spinal fusions in Washington Post letter.
The North American Spine Society Executive Committee has penned a letter to the Washington Post in response to a story questioning the necessity of spinal fusions. The article, titled "Spinal fusions serve as case study for debate over when certain surgeries are necessary," ran in the Washington Post last week. While the letter recognized unnecessary surgery as a "serious issue," the authors of the letter felt it inappropriate to condemn all spinal fusions.
Biomet signed distribution agreement with Titan Spine for fusion devices.
Titan Spine developed a distribution agreement with Biomet for the Titan Spine Endoskeleton interbody fusion devices. The agreement will bring the device to spine surgeons in Germany. The distribution scope could also be expanded to include additional European countries.
House, Senate committee members released discussion draft to fix SGR formula.
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee announced that a bipartisan, bicameral discussion draft outline to permanently fix the broken Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate formula has been released. The discussion draft includes a framework to solicit input to begin the committee process for a full repeal of the formula.
Zimmer Spine launched Viewline MIS instruments.
Zimmer Spine launched its newest line of minimally invasive instruments for exposure, retraction, decompression and disc preparation with lumbar fusion and microdiscectomy procedures. The Viewline set includes the Tube Retraction System, Retractor System and Posterior MIS Instrument Set.
Cleveland Clinic Spine Surgery at Fisher-Titus opened.
Cleveland Clinic Spine Surgery at Fisher-Titus, a new spine surgery program being offered at Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, Ohio, is open to patients. The program is a clinical affiliation between Cleveland Clinic and Fisher-Titus Medical Center.
Mazor Robotics closed public offering with nearly $47M in proceeds.
Mazor Robotics closed its initial public offering of 2.76 million shares at $17 per share for a total of $46.92 million in gross proceeds.
Dr. Anthony Yeung donated $2.5M to develop endoscopic spine center at University of New Mexico Hospital.
University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque announced it is developing a new endoscopic spine center, funded by a $2.5 million donation by Anthony T. Yeung, MD.
The Dr. Anthony T. and Eileen K. Yeung Endoscopic Spine Center at UNM Hospital will be part of the hospital's Interdisciplinary Center for Spine Health.
Roberto Quarta appointed as Smith & Nephew's new chairman.
Smith & Nephew appointed Roberto Quarta as a non-executive director and chairman elect. The appointment comes after the device company's announcement that the sale of artificial hips and knees had improved despite previous slow growth.
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