Spine

Four spine surgeons discuss where spine research is headed in the future.

Brian R. Gantwerker, MD, of The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles, currently uses minimally invasive spine techniques with patients and has seen the clinical and economic value of these less invasive procedures.

Through a bundled payment agreement, Walmart employees will have access to free spine procedures at certain health systems and hospitals with no out-of-pocket cost, according to a news release published in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Hospital readmissions for spine surgery may be overestimated by current algorithms, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

All patient subgroups with spinal stenosis, with the exception of smokers, improve more with surgery than with nonoperative treatment, according to a study published in Spine.

Here are 20 spine surgeons who are leaders on device company scientific, medical or executive boards. If you would like to add a spine surgeon to the list, please contact Laura at lmiller@beckershealthcare.com.

Dennis Crandall, MD, founder and medical director of Sonoran Spine Center in Mesa, Ariz., originally began practicing as a member of a large group and then struck out on his own to begin a spine specialty practice.

California spine device company Spinal Elements has found a way to face the ethical dilemma posed by its new Hero Allograft made from bones of donated human cadavers, according to NPR.

Mark P. Carol, MD, has been named the 2012 honorary member of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Diagnostic and Interventional Surgical Center, the ambulatory surgery center arm of  DISC Sports & Spine Center in Marina del Rey, Calif., has done over 7,000 cases since it opened its doors in 2006 and reported a zero surgical site infection…