Spine

Spine surgeon leaders from across the U.S. answer big questions about where the spine field is headed next year.

Here are the top-read articles from Becker's Spine Review from Dec. 14-18:

From new device debuts and recognitions, here are 19 spine surgeons making headlines this past week:

Adding a new spine procedure to a surgeon's arsenal can come with many challenges, including the learning curve, case selection, cost and reimbursement. Four spine surgeons share best practices to ensure great outcomes can be achieved right out of the gate.

Spine surgeons expect another challenging year in 2021 as they continue to weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and brace for significant cuts from CMS.

The first procedure with the Simplify cervical artificial disc has been completed by three spine surgeons of Texas Back Institute in Plano.

The U.S. Department of Justice continued its crackdown on unlawful kickback arrangements this year, with four big spine cases catching the attention of Becker's readers:

Humana has widened its coverage policies to include minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion using triangular titanium implants, which covers SI-Bone's iFuse system.

Patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs' spinal cord injury centers will be first to receive Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from the federal agency, Stars and Stripes reports.

Alexandre Rasouli, MD, reportedly performed the first spine surgery with Centinel Spine's new angled endplates intended for the prodisc L lumbar total disc replacement system.