Spine

For years, some of the biggest advances in spine surgery have happened inside the operating room: better implants, navigation, robotics, minimally invasive techniques. Rachel Bratescu, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University Hospital’s Spine and Pain…

Nima Salari, MD, is not opposed to spinal fusion. He is opposed to making it the starting point. Before immobilizing a segment of the spine, the spine surgeon at Phoenix-based Desert Institute for Spine Care considers whether the same problem…

The call can come while Adetokunbo Oyelese, MD, PhD, is seeing a patient. At other times, it interrupts an operation. Dr. Oyelese has stepped out of examination rooms and scrubbed out of surgical procedures to join peer-to-peer reviews with insurers.…

New robots, navigation platforms and AI tools continue to enter the market. But as reimbursement falls behind the cost of care, spine leaders are raising the bar for what is worth the investment. Spine’s technology pipeline is not slowing. A…

Orthofix Medical raised its full-year 2026 net sales and adjusted EBITDA guidance after reporting second-quarter sales growth across its spine, limb reconstruction and therapeutic solutions businesses. The company reported second-quarter net sales of $210.9 million, up 4% year over year…

New York has more hospitals on U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 list of the nation’s top hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery than any other state, with 10 of the 50 ranked spots. California follows with eight, and Florida rounds…

Spine and orthopedic practices have two Medicare payment rules moving through the comment process at once this fall, both with direct implications for how procedures get reimbursed starting Jan. 1. Here are the key dates to track: CMS released the…

Medicare improperly paid an estimated $15.2 million for sacroiliac joint injection sessions that did not meet Medicare requirements between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, according to an Aug. 5 report from HHS’ Office of Inspector General. The OIG…

Alphatec Holdings reported total revenue of $214 million for the second quarter ended June 30, up 15% year over year. Surgical revenue increased 17% year over year to $196 million, driven by 20% growth in spine surgery case volume.  Despite…

Adults with Type 2 diabetes who initiated glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists had a 21% lower risk of fragility fractures over three years than those who started dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, according to a study published July 24 in JAMA. Researchers at…