Spine

Two legal cases involving spine surgeons and implants were settled in the last seven days.

Neurosurgeon Alexander Taghva, MD, introduced focused ultrasound at his practice in Orange County, Calif., according to a Dec. 3 news release.

Southern California Orthopedic Institute added George Wahba, MD, according to a Dec. 2 Instagram post.

Single-level spinal fusions saw similar patient-reported outcomes after a year at an orthopedic specialty hospital and a tertiary referral center, according to a study in the December 2024 issue of The Spine Journal.

Spine technologies are gaining traction, especially among early-career surgeons, but not all of them have strong payer coverage, Ali Mesiwala, MD, said. 

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons have urged Congress to pass a bill that would halt the scheduled physician payment cut.

A Texas neurosurgeon settled allegations he billed Medicare for spine procedures he didn't perform, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas said Nov. 27.

Surgeons at the Flagstaff (Ariz.) Bone & Joint ASC completed the first OsteoPearl allograft implant procedure.

From disc replacement to Ozempic, Becker's reported on eight key spine and orthopedic studies since Oct. 28.

Overhead remains a constant challenge for spine surgeons who also want to balance that with practice growth.