Spine

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons on Nov. 19 endorsed a bill that aims to mitigate the 9.75 percent Medicare reimbursement cut facing physicians in 2022.

Here are 10 spine surgeons to know:

Vijay Yanamadala, MD, a Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare neurosurgeon, performed New England's first awake spinal fusion, according to a Nov. 15 News12 report.

Ten hospitals and practices hiring spine surgeons, using LinkedIn's job-search tool: 

Neurosurgeon Chad Prusmack, MD, performed an artificial disc replacement on the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights player Jack Eichel, Sportsnet reported Nov. 13.

Chitra Dahia, PhD, received two National Institutes of Health grants totalling $6 million for research focusing on disc degeneration and chronic back pain.

Dr. Helen Hann, an anesthesiologist at John Radcliffe Hospital in the United Kingdom, had been interested in awake spine surgery for 12 years but hadn't found a surgeon willing to take up the challenge with her.

Healthgrades released its list of 2022 Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Awards on Oct. 19.

CMS is walking back its proposed elimination of the inpatient-only list and returning most of the services it removed from the list in 2022.

Retired Lake Worth Beach, Fla., surgeon Merrill Reuter, MD, is being sued for allegedly billing at least 34 patients for spinal fusions he never performed, according to a Nov. 8 The Palm Beach Post report.