Scott Smith, MD, a 54-year-old orthopedic surgeon, returned to work at Texas Orthopedics days after being discharged from a hospital for intensive COVID-19 treatment, according to local news outlets.

Sanjeev Kakar, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, is seeing an increase in hand injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, KIMT3 reports.

Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA, is the director of research in arthroplasty services at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Chen also serves as an associate professor at Boston-based Harvard Medical School.

Missoula (Mont.) Bone & Joint has laid off more than 50 of its 200-plus employees since March 23, CEO Sami Spencer told the Montana Free Press.

Here are six orthopedic surgeons making headlines this week:

The widespread suspension of elective surgeries due to the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant economic difficulties for device companies and practices in the orthopedic industry.

Financial relief provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act won't be enough to keep musculoskeletal care providers afloat after the COVID-19 crisis, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons said in an April 10 letter to congressional leaders.

St. Louis-based orthopedic surgeon Bill Schroer, MD, is using his distillery to make hand sanitizer, which is in high demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to NBC affiliate KSDK.

Meriden-based Connecticut Orthopaedic Institute at MidState Medical Center is "aggressively" using telemedicine during the COVID-19 crisis, orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Pravda, MD, told local news outlet WTNH.

An 18-location orthopedic practice is suing Geico for $750,000 in damages, accusing the insurer of wrongfully denying "numerous" claims, South Florida Business Journal reports.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recognized James Hill, MD, with its 2020 Diversity Award on March 30.

Here are five orthopedic surgeons making the news this week:

Ventilators and personal protective equipment are sitting unused in closed surgery centers around Atlanta, but getting the supplies to local hospitals is a challenge, foot and ankle surgeon Craig Camasta, DPM, told FOX 5 Atlanta.

Carolina Orthopedics Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy reopened after a weeklong closure prompted by a potential COVID-19 case in one of its employees, who has since died, JDNews.com reports.

Orthopedic staff at New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System are pivoting to assist frontline healthcare workers battling a surge in COVID-19 patients across the system's emergency rooms and urgent care facilities.

Here are 15 orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine physicians that joined new practices or received new appointments in March:

Rockford-based OrthoIllinois was already building up its telemedicine program before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the crisis "fast-forwarded everything," orthopedic surgeon Geoff Van Thiel, MD, told mystateline.com.

Phoenix-based The CORE Institute is offering orthopedic urgent care services to support COVID-19 relief efforts.

Olympia (Wash.) Orthopaedic Associates used telemedicine to help a quarantined patient recover from knee surgery, practice representative Nikolai Hammer told Thurston Talk. 

Hudson Regional Hospital named Robert Kayal, MD, as the chief of the musculoskeletal department.