Here are eight things for spinal surgeons to know for Oct. 5, 2017.
Integra LifeSciences receives approval to purchase DePuy Synthes' neuro division
The Federal Trade Commission approved Integra LifeSciences' request to purchase DePuy Synthes' Codman Neuro division, according to Reuters. Integra proposed the $1.05 billion deal in February. To receive approval, Integra LifeSciences sold five medical products lines in a $47.5 million deal to Natus Medical.
Zimmer Biomet's Avenue T Cage available in the US
Zimmer Biomet launched the Avenue T TLIF Cage in the U.S. The Avenue T incorporates Zimmer Biomet's VerteBRIDGE plating, designed to facilitate cage insertion and zero-profile, intradiscal fixation through a direct minimally invasive approach. The cage is the first posteriorly implanted cage with integrated, anti-migration fixation.
Dr. Tom Price resigns as HHS secretary; Dr. Don Wright steps up as interim secretary
HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, resigned Sept. 29 in the midst of an inspector general investigation, according to The New York Times. Dr. Price spent at least $400,000 on private planes for government business trips. Don J. Wright, MD, a deputy assistant secretary for health and Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion director, stepped in as acting HHS secretary.
Dr. Linda Liau to chair UCLA neurosurgery academic department
Linda M. Liau, MD, PhD, is the new neurosurgery department chair at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. She is the second woman ever to chair an academic neurosurgery department in the U.S. She has dedicated two decades to glioblastoma treatment research, funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Alexander Vaccaro: Concerns and best opportunity for spine
As president of Philadelphia-based Rothman Institute, Alexander Vaccaro, MD, is responsible for a network of practices including around 200 physicians and surgeons providing orthopedic and spine care. Read what Dr. Vaccaro had to say about concerns for his practice in the coming year and the biggest opportunity for spine surgeons in the future.
Las Vegas hospitals deal with mass shooting aftermath, array of patient injuries
Las Vegas hospitals are seeing the effects of Sunday's mass shooting as they treat an array of traumas, including gunshot wounds and car injuries, according to The Wall Street Journal. Authorities have reported more than 50 deaths and more than 500 injured from the shooting, which occurred at a country music festival near the Las Vegas strip's Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
The Anand Spine Group 1 of 30 spine centers participating in Premia Spine's TOPS System study
Los Angeles-based The Anand Spine Group will study Premia Spine's TOPS System in a FDA Investigational Device Exemption study. The study will evaluate the TOPS System as the first posterior arthroplasty device intended to treat degenerative Grade I spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis, against traditional lumbar fusion.
WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center opens brain and spine clinic
WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg opened its new brain and spine clinic. The clinic is part of the WVU department of neurosurgery and provides inpatient and outpatient brain and spinal care. Due to rapid group in the eastern panhandle, Anthony Zelenka, CEO of Berkeley Medical Center, and Albert Wright, MD, CEO of WVU Medicine, collaborated to develop the brain and spine clinic.