Spine

Obese patients and patients who had inpatient surgery tend to have higher costs when undergoing lumbar discectomies, according to a study published in the August 2021 issue of The Spine Journal.

From the progression of outpatient spine surgery to how artificial disc replacement will compete with spinal fusion, here are quotes from four surgeons that caught the attention of Becker's readers this week:

Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, Ark. added its third neurosurgeon, Adam Smitherman, MD.

A study found positive outcomes in patients who underwent a lateral minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion using hollow screws.

Sina Rajamand, DO, opened Battle Born Brain and Spine in Carson City, Nev., according to an Aug. 4 news release.

In 2010, after an X-ray revealed that rock climber Kyra Condie had an S-shaped curve in her spine, she consulted with three surgeons before opting to undergo surgery by John Lonstein, MD, according to USA Today.

In the next decade, spine surgeons will move further toward a multidisciplinary approach to care, with robotics becoming the standard of care for instrumentation placement, fewer fusions being performed and more total disc replacements.

Ehsan Jazini, MD, and Christopher Good, MD, used patient-specific spinal rods and an artificial intelligence-derived preoperative surgical plan to operate on a 17-year-old scoliosis patient in Virginia.

Safety measures, protocols and advanced technology make it possible for more spine procedures to be performed at ASCs, outside of the traditional hospital setting. While outpatient migration is widely touted by surgeons as a positive trend, it is not without…

From an artificial disc replacement lawsuit revived against a commercial payer to a spine device that was allegedly wrongfully denied coverage, here are three insurers involved in spine-related court cases: