Spine
In the realm of spinal fusion surgery, the quest for faster, safer, and more reliable bone formation has led to…
The future of spine surgery may depend less on what happens in the operating room than on who controls everything that happens before it. For decades, spine practices have built their businesses around surgical expertise, procedural volume and, increasingly, ownership…
In spine and orthopedic surgery, an abnormal MRI is not a surgical indication. But patients arrive convinced it is, and sorting through that disconnect is the most consequential part of the job, according to many surgeons. The question of when…
Orthopedic and spine surgeons filed more than 1,000 comments opposing CMS’ proposed 2027 physician fee schedule, zeroing in on a roughly 20% cut to joint replacement payment and a 50% cut to same-day visits. Becker’s reviewed all 43,040 public comments…
For spine surgeons, the question heading into 2027 may no longer be how to grow their practices, but what they can afford to give up. Medicare participation, practice independence, expensive surgical technology and traditional business models are all coming under…
A Missouri spine surgeon and a Kansas medical device distributor were sentenced for their roles in a kickback scheme involving spinal implants sold by SpineFrontier. Jason Montone, DO, of Lawson, Mo., was sentenced to one year of supervised release and…
Syracuse, N.Y.-based Upstate Medical University has named Craig Rabb, MD, interim chair of its department of neurosurgery. Dr. Rabb has served as professor and chair of neurological surgery at Creighton University School of Medicine and system chair of neurosurgery for…
Bone quality used to be the problem orthopedic and spine surgeons dealt with after the hardware failed. In 2026, it moved to the front of the line. Surgeons are ordering bone-density scans before they book the operating room. They also…
Theodore Koreckij, MD, has reached a familiar crossroads for successful spine surgeons: His practice has more room to grow, but his schedule does not. “I’m sort of capped out,” Dr. Koreckij, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Leawood, Kan.-based Kansas City…
The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery is calling for updated insurance coverage policies to reflect advances in spinal fusion bone graft technologies while preserving surgeons’ authority to select graft materials. The society’s 2026 bone graft policy update…
Four spine surgeons from the University of California San Francisco have joined Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health to launch the Sutter Advanced Neuroscience & Spine Institute at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. The institute’s permanent home, the Advanced Neuroscience…