Spine

Spine surgeons generally agree on when patients with degenerative spinal disorders need surgery, however, they disagree on the appropriate surgical intervention, according to a study published in Spine.

After Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina released revised guidelines on coverage for spinal fusions in Sept. 2010, leaders of orthopedic and spine societies from around the country collaborated on a formal response. In a letter, written largely by…

Data collected from medicolegal suits can provide information regarding the morbidity associated with cervical spine surgery, which can lessen the patients' expectations and limit the spine surgeon's liability, according to an article published in Spine.

Kaixuan Liu, MD, chief surgeon at Atlantic Spinal Care in Edison, N.J., now treats cervical disc hernations with endoscopic cervical discectomy to avoid open spinal fusions, according to an Atlantic Spinal Care news release.

Brian Subach, MD, a spine surgeon at the Virginia Spine Institute (VSI) and director of research for both VSI and the non-profit Spinal Research Foundation, discusses three areas of important research for spine surgery in 2011.

The North Carolina Blue Cross Blue Shield has agreed to change the recently implemented lumbar fusion policy after several orthopedic and spine societies sent the company a letter recommending coverage for additional situations, according to a Spine Arthroplasty Society news…

The presence of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a significant risk factor for wound infection after corrective neuromuscular scoliosis surgery, according to an article published in Spine.

The North American Spine Society will sponsor one person to participate in the 2011 Clinician Scholar Development Program, according to a NASS news release.

Kapil Moza, MD, a neurosurgeon at Thousand Oaks, Calif., was the first neurosurgeon in his area to complete a cervical artificial disc replacement in 2007 and has implanted 10 more since then without complications, according to a MD News report.

Jeff Leland is CEO of Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners.   Q: We are an ASC looking to add spine surgery. What spine procedures are typically performed in an ambulatory surgery center?   Jeff Leland: Generally speaking, discectomies, decompressions, laminotomies,…