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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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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Editor's Note A 64-year-old patient sought a second opinion with Kern Singh, MD, an orthopedic surgeon, when told he needed a second spine surgery to address complications from a previous procedure. Dr Singh, director of spine surgery at Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH in Chicago, performs endoscopic spine surgery in the…

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Editor's Note The Bonati Spine Institute, based in Hudson, Florida, filed a $500 million lawsuit in federal court against the state of Florida, Business Observer April 4 reports. The lawsuit accuses the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) of wrongful shutdown, civil rights violations, conspiracy, defamation, and libel. This…

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Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) specializing in orthopedic and spine procedures are seeing a surge in growth, Orthopedics This Week April 2 reports. An "Impact of Change Forecast" report from Sg2, a Vizient Inc company, forecasts a 12% increase in orthopedics/spine ASCs in the next 5 years and a…

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Editor's Note An augmented reality headset provided a scrub team with a detailed, mixed-reality view of a microsurgical spinal procedures to streamline surgery at Cromwell Hopsital in the UK, according to a March 14 report in Fox Business News. The headset, an Apple Vision Pro, was linked to eXeX, described…

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Editor's Note Spine surgeons are sounding the alarm about high numbers of unnecessary fusion surgeries, according to a March 5 report in Becker’s Spine Review. Unnecessary surgeries refer to any surgical intervention that is not needed or in the patient’s best interest. A recent report from Forbes finds that 50%…

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Editor's Note Although lumbar disc herniation surgery can alleviate symptoms of back pain and even prevent disability, the costs exceed the benefits for a sizeable minority of patients, researchers write in a study published February 7 in Jama Network. To address this concern, they investigated whether machine learning algorithms that…

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Editor's Note A recent double-blind, randomized controlled trial could not prove that minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion was any more effective than sham surgery in treating severe sacroiliac joint pain. “With these findings, there should be discussion in the medical community whether an irreversible surgical procedure with related risks and…

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Editor's Note Stryker Corp announced its plans to showcase new joint-replacement technologies and updates to its Mako surgical robotic platform at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting in San Francisco, according to a February 16 article in The Robot Report. The announcement includes the introduction of myMako and…

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