The orthopedic industry is ripe for change.
Kushagra Verma, MD, orthopedic spine surgeon at DISC Sports & Spine Center in Marina del Rey, Calif., connected with Becker's to answer, "What will the orthopedic industry look like 50 years from now?"
Editor's note: This response has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Dr. Kushagra Verma: In 50 years, orthopedic surgery will largely make advances due to patients being managed in a more minimally invasive fashion with a greater emphasis on outpatient surgery. This trend is already emerging over the last 10 years and will continue to grow. Most conditions will be managed outside of the hospital and only very complex cases will require a hospital admission. The difficult recoveries associated with complex surgery will also likely be reduced.
In addition, greater advancements in motion-preservation technologies will allow fewer patients to require a fusion for degenerative conditions. The greatest opportunity for this advancement remains in the lumbar spine. Around the country, I would expect to have more and more vascular surgeons trained to properly expose the anterior aspect of the spine even in revision cases. Currently, there are a handful of vascular surgeons interested and experienced in these types of procedures.
Lastly, navigation and robotic surgery will evolve, thereby improving the precision of surgery. The surgeon will mainly be tasked with caring for the patient and making the diagnosis, while key portions of the procedure are automated. To what extent automation is involved in spine surgery remains debatable.