CMS is currently projecting an over 100 percent increase in the number of hip and knee replacements performed by 2040. 

Brooke Amick, a patient with Quadriplegia, has been granted a new trial against neurosurgeon John Iskander, MD, after an Arizona appeals court ruled that a trial court excluded evidence that proved her surgeon’s alleged negligence led to her complete paralysis, according to an Aug. 16 report from Bloomberg Law.

Charles De Mesa, DO, joined Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Spine Center to lead the pain management program, according to an Aug. 16 news release. 

Neurostimulation technology innovator BackStop Neural has appointed neurosurgeon Steven Falowski, MD, to its advisory board, according to an Aug. 15 press release sent to Becker's. 

Two U.S. surgeons joined Bioretec's scientific advisory board, the orthopedic medtech company said Aug. 16.

Zachary Johnson, MD, has joined Dallas Neurosurgical & Spine.

On Sept. 1, UnitedHealthcare is set to begin a two-phased approach to eliminate prior authorization requirements for several procedure codes, including four spine-related codes. The code removals will account for almost 20 percent of its overall prior authorization volume. 

Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley in Wilmington, named Suken Shah, MD, as The Shands/MacEwen Endowed chair of orthopedics and chair of the orthopedic surgery department.

Four spine surgeons discuss the competition between private practices and hospitals in their markets.

Here are two MLB pitchers who had spine surgery in August:

Robert Watkins, MD, operated on Oakland Athletics pitcher Drew Rucinski, the MLB said Aug. 8.

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Deepak Reddy, MD, of South Bend (Ind.) Orthopedics completed the first solo SynerFuse procedure.

Two spine surgeons were cleared of malpractice allegations in the last month.

A jury sided with Anil Kesani, MD, in a civil case accusing the spine surgeon of botching a woman's surgery in 2017, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Aug. 6.

Spine surgeons Glenn Russo, MD; Girard Girasole, MD; John Awad, MD, and Gary Zimmerman, MD, performed the first cases using the PathKeeper System at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn.

U.S. News & World Report has named its top 30 neurology and neurosurgery hospitals in the U.S. for 2023 and 2024, including five hospitals in California. 

ASCs and outpatient surgery have the benefit of letting patients recover at home the same day they go to the operating room. While many spine techniques are becoming less invasive, migrating cases to ASCs can take time.

An Ohio state appeals court has reclaimed a damages award from spine surgery patient Tammy Mann, who was awarded $438,000 in damages after suing Cincinnati-based Center for Advanced Spine Technologies and surgeon Abubakar Durrani, MD, in 2013, according to an Aug. 2 report from Bloomberg Law.

Washington Nationals pitcher Matt Cronin had surgery to repair a herniated disc, he said in an Aug. 2 Instagram post.