Here are six points on who is hot, and who is not, in the spine field this past week.
Hot
Medtronic — This medical device giant got news Ireland approved their acquisition of Covidien, an Ireland-based company, which will form Medtronic Plc. Medtronic had a tumultuous 2014 after announcing the acquisition and plans to move headquarters overseas in a tax inversion strategy, which incited criticism from the government, but now the company is another step closer to finalizing their plans and becoming a mega-giant in the industry.
John Peloza, MD — Dr. Peloza performed the first surgery in the United States using the FLXfit, which is the only three-dimensional expandable interbody cage in the world. Dr. Peloza practices at Texas Back Institute in Plano and was able to perform the successful procedure, which was developed by Expanding Orthopedics.
Spinal cord injury patients — The trial for InVivo Therapeutics' Neuro-Spinal Scaffold to treat patients with traumatic spinal cord injury took another step forward last week as a second patient was enrolled in the trial at Carolinas Medical Center, part of the Carolinas HealthCare System. Domagoj Coric, MD, performed the procedure with John Ziewacz, MD, which could be revolutionary for patients who suffer spinal cord injury.
Not
Atiq Durrani, MD — Dr. Durrani, who fled the country after malpractice accusations, had his credentials questioned last week ahead of a civil trail scheduled for next month, according to a WCPO report. The government is charging Dr. Durrani for billing for fraudulent services as well.
Kaitlyn Farrington — This professional skier and Olympic Gold Medalist was forced to retire her skis last week after experiencing temporary paralysis from her neck down. The U.S. Olympic Team Physician Tom Hackett, MD, reported Ms. Farrington had congenital cervical stenosis, which can lead to serious injuries or fatality if aggravated. Before this incident, Ms. Farrington didn't know she had this degenerative spinal condition.
Text neck — The new phenomenon known as "text neck" is back pain related to poor posture from looking down at electronic devices. The issue continues to grow as more physicians speak out against chronically poor posture related to texting or playing games on small mobile devices. Physicians have been discussing it in the news and offering tips on how to prevent "text neck" since at least August 2014 — making the deluge of coverage this past week old news. Isn't it time to move on?