Spine

Ask five spine surgeons how to treat the same patient, and Tan Chen, MD, said one may get six answers. For Dr. Chen, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health and a 2026 North American Spine Society…

On the afternoon Hao-Hua Wu, MD, a spine surgeon at the University of California, Irvine, spoke with Becker’s, an urgent case was already testing one of his central beliefs about medicine: The operation is only part of the job. Before…

The North American Spine Society released revised coverage recommendations for recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein BMP-2, adding select off-label indications now supported by clinical data. The update gives providers a basis for appropriate use of rhBMP-2 and gives payers a…

The former CFO of Massachusetts-based spinal implant company SpineFrontier has been sentenced to four months in prison for his role in a kickback scheme that paid more than $540,000 in sham consulting fees to surgeons to induce use of the…

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers found cervical spinal cord stimulation improved arm strength and reduced spasticity among seven people with chronic post-stroke arm weakness.  According to a study published June 4 in Nature Medicine, Participants experienced an average…

In 1995, Paul Vessa, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon and medical director at Bedminster-based New Jersey Spine Institute, made a bet on independence.  Two years into practice, he took his practice out of network after watching managed care reshape the…

L&K Spine Inc. based in Texas, a leading innovator in spinal implant technologies, today announced the successful completion of its first 3-level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) procedure utilizing the BluEX-C Expandable Cervical Interbody System. The landmark C4–C7 procedure…

Spine robotics have become a significant investment for hospitals and ASCs, but realizing a return can depend on more than acquiring the technology. Nine spine surgeons discuss what separates programs that extract real value from robotics from those that struggle…

The career path decision is not getting any easier for physicians.  Independent practice. Hospital employment. Private equity partnership. ASC ownership. For spine and orthopedic surgeons, choosing a path has never come with more options.  Three physicians who have been through…

When Andrew Zhang, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon, arrived at the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania, endoscopic spine surgery was not part of the orthopedic spine program’s routine practice. That changed Feb. 27. Dr. Zhang performed the department’s first endoscopic spine…