Spine

A Thomas Jefferson University study published in Neurosurgery found that lumbar spinal fusions were three times more likely to achieve better outcomes when evidence-based guidelines were followed, EurekAlert reports.

CMS' inpatient-only list, which has been around since 2000, will be phased out by 2024, beginning with the 266 orthopedic procedures that were removed from the list in 2021.

Ehsan Jazini, MD, placed his 100th pedicle screw using augmented reality technology at Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute.

Washington state health officials restricted the license of a Spokane-based neurosurgeon after he was accused of performing spine surgeries that weren't medically necessary, according to a report from The Spokesman-Review.

Arianne Boylan, MD, became the first female neurosurgeon at Hartford (Conn.) Healthcare Network when she joined the system's Spine Wellness Center in Westport, Conn., in early March, according to a report from News 12: The Bronx.

A study published in the March 15 issue of Spine examines whether U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings correlate with cervical fusion outcomes.

From the rise of robots to the use of big data and a move away from hospital-owned practices, changes in the field of spine surgery will be very evident by 2030, six spine surgeons predict. 

CMS plans to drop the inpatient-only list. 

Chicago-based Rush University Medical Group's Richard Fessler, MD, PhD, performed a minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with two implants recently relaunched by device company Spinal Elements.

New York City-based Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai plans to open a spine center as part of a long-term lease for a 165,000-square-foot space in Manhattan.