Spinal Surgery

Latest Issue of OR Manager
September 2025
Home Surgery/Specialties > Spinal Surgery

August poll results: Service line shifts push ASCs to expand capacity, redefine readiness

The migration of surgical cases from inpatient settings to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continues to reshape perioperative leadership in 2025. Nationally, the trend is driven by payer incentives, patient preference, and cost pressures, with ASCs now performing more orthopedic, spine, and complex outpatient procedures than ever before. In fact, the…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
September 3, 2025
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Scrubs to startups: Viral neurosurgeon is breaking barriers, fixing spines, advocating for safer ORs

Neurosurgeon Dr Betsy Grunch is known online as @Ladyspinedoc

When Betsy Grunch, MD, FAANS, FACS, FCNS, board-certified neurosurgeon known on TikTok and Instagram as @Ladyspinedoc, watched a viral video of a surgeon berating an OR nurse during a livestreamed procedure, she was incredibly bothered by the shameful display. She took to her popular platform and spoke out against that…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
July 8, 2025
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Reviewing the evolution of US News’ 2025 best ASCs ranking

A wave of policy and regulatory changes is shaking up the healthcare industry—among many other markets. Like the COVID-19 pandemic greatly sped up the proliferation of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by bringing traditional hospital operations to a standstill, ASCs are again on the poise of another boom. Medical innovation abounds…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
February 18, 2025
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Medtronic, Zimmer Biomet challenge Intuitive Surgical’s robotic surgery dominance

Editor's Note Robotic-assisted surgical procedures are no longer futuristic—they are becoming a mainstay in modern ORs. While Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci system has led the market since 2001, competitors Medtronic and Zimmer Biomet are building innovative portfolios to challenge its dominance, MarketBeat December 12 reports. Medtronic’s Hugo Robotic Assisted Surgery…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
December 18, 2024
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Analysis: Overuse of back surgeries costs Medicare $2 billion, risks patient safety

Editor's Note More than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries were performed on older adults from 2019 to 2021, costing Medicare approximately $2 billion and exposing patients to avoidable risks, according to a November 14 analysis from the Lown Institute. The evaluation focused on spinal fusion, laminectomy, and vertebroplasty procedures, which are…

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By: Matt Danford
November 15, 2024
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Countdown to OR Manager Conference: Key strategies for success adding complex spine procedures to ASCs

Editor's Note At last year’s OR Manager Conference, healthcare leader Karen Reiter, RN, CNOR, RNFA, CASC, shared her expertise on integrating complex spine procedures into ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). As the former administrator at DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach and vice president of operations and payer management at TriasMD,…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
August 14, 2024
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Study: Spinal fusion failure more likely for diabetic patients

Editor's Note Lumbar spinal fusion procedures are significantly more likely to fail in individuals with diabetes, according researchers at The University of Toledo. According to a July 9 EurekAlert! report on the study, published in JBMR Plus, diabetic patients are already known to have a higher risk of infection from…

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By: Matt Danford
August 6, 2024
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Surgery-preventing spinal stimulation poised for FDA approval

Editor's Note A recent trial marks the last hurdle for researchers to request regulatory approval for a noninvasive alternative to spinal surgery, according to a May 20 report in MIT Technology Review. Onward Medical’s ACRex device delivers electrical stimulation to the spinal cord via two wired electrodes placed just below…

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By: Matt Danford
May 23, 2024
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US News & World Report best ASCs ranking now available

US news and world report

Editor's Note With the goal of helping patients choose if outpatient care is right for them and identify the right ambulatory surgery center (ASC) for their needs, US News & World Report unveiled on May 14 its inaugural ranking of the best ASCs in the US. Reportedly, “fewer than 15%…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
May 15, 2024
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Surgical site infections often caused by preexisting bacteria

Editor's Note Most healthcare-associated surgical site infections are not caused by pathogens acquired in the hospital, but by previously harmless bacteria already present on patients’ skin prior to being admitted, according to a study published April 10 in Science Translational Medicine. Surgical site infections account for the highest annual costs…

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By: Brita Belli
April 29, 2024
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