Spine

Florida health officials have ordered a spine surgeon to take additional courses and pay a fine after performing disc replacement surgery on the wrong part of a patient's spine, the Miami Herald reports.

Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's richest people in 2021 includes Gary Michelson, MD, a retired spine surgeon with a net worth of $1.7 billion.

Spine surgeon Jay Khanna, MD, MBA, has been named to three leadership positions in Washington, D.C. by Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health, according to the company. 

While many surgical procedures have been steadily migrating from the inpatient to outpatient setting in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend.

Steven Cyr, MD, a Mayo Clinic-trained spine surgeon, has completed a second fellowship in cosmetic surgery with Wilbur Hah, MD, president of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.

Here are six spine and neurosurgeons who joined new practices or gained new titles in March:

Neurosurgeon Chima Ohaegbulam, MD, has been appointed chief of spine surgery at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

The need for minimally invasive spine procedures is boosting the demand for ASCs, with endoscopic spine surgery a prime procedure for the outpatient setting due to its lower risk of complications, reduced blood loss, smaller incisions and faster recovery time.

Daniel Sciubba, MD, has left Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University for New York.

A newly released study shows surgeons' use of telehealth rose across all surgical specialties early in the pandemic. While rates declined as in-person care resumed, they remained above pre-pandemic levels.