Spine

Don Park MD, of Irvine, Calif.-based UCI Health, performed the world’s first endoscopic spinal fusion using augmented reality. Dr. Park wore an AR headset with HD endoscopic video MRI images and EMR in his field of vision, according to a June 30…

Some fee-for-service spine procedures in traditional Medicare will have prior authorizations added, according to CMS’ new Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction model. CMS is partnering with AI and machine learning companies to test ways to implement an expedited prior authorization process…

Multilevel fusions for patients having lumbar decompressions are associated with increased odds for postoperative adverse events, readmissions and reoperations, according to a study in the July 1 issue of Spine. Four notes: 1. Researchers used data from the PearlDiver M165Orto…

Here are seven spine surgeons joining new practices or adding to their titles in June: 1. SynerFuse named neurosurgeon Michael Park, MD, PhD, as its chief technology officer.  2. Justin Ledesma, MD, joined Spine Medicine and Surgery of Long Island…

A 93-year-old woman underwent a successful 2-level lumbar decompression with spinal anesthesia, according to a case study published June 23 in the Journal of Neurosurgery. She had laminectomies at L4 and L5 simultaneously, and two surgeons used dual tubular retractors.…

Endoscopic spine surgery is pushing past being a novelty in 2025. In the first half of 2025, hospitals including Martinsburg, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center, Cleveland-based University Hospitals, Lawrenceville, Ga.-based Northside Hospital Gwinnett and Valdosta, Ga.-based SGMC Health Smith…

Aclarion has enrolled its first patients in a clinical trial designed to reduce back pain at the Texas Back Institute in Plano.  The chronic low back pain randomized independent trial study (CLARITY) will aim to prove the effectiveness of Nociscan’s…

Daniel Choi, MD, performed the first Barricaid annular closure implantation with an endoscopic approach, Intrinsic Therapeutics said June 26. Dr. Choi used Amplify Surgical’s dualPortal system for the surgery and performed the case at Gramercy Surgery Center in New York…

Hospital partnerships come with benefits and tradeoffs for spine surgeons. Knowing how to approach these contracts can help physicians find their best match. Two spine surgeons discuss their strategies. Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to…

Ehsan Jazini, MD, of VSI in Reston, Va., is the first in the U.S. to combine Centinel Spine’s Prodisc C-Nova and C-Vivo disc replacement implants. Instead of performing a three-level spinal fusion, Dr. Jazini performed the disc replacements, and the…