From new devices to new technology, four spine surgeons told Becker's what they're excited about at their practices in 2023.
Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. Becker's invites all spine surgeon and specialist responses.
Next week's question: What's your favorite spine surgery to perform? Why?
Please send responses to Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday, May 10.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What is something new you're implementing at your spine practice this year?
Harel Deutsch, MD. Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush (Chicago): The TOPS device is expected to be FDA-approved in the future. The TOPS device is a posterior lumbar facet joint replacement device that can be used instead of a fusion. We have received a lot of patient interest in the device to avoid spinal fusion surgery.
Brian Fiani, DO. Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists (Livonia, Mich.): Something new that we are excited to implement at our spine surgery practice this year in Michigan is robotic-assisted spine surgery. The utilization of robotic assistance allows us to perform our procedures at ambulatory surgery centers in a minimally invasive technique. With this innovation our patients will have a quicker recovery and no hospitalization stay. The robot assistance helps optimize precision and accuracy.
Brian Gantwerker, MD. The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: We have decided to continue to do what we have been doing since the beginning. We keep patients front and center and make sure they get the care they need. When they call they get a live human being, not a phone tree. And when they have questions, concerns, or having an issue, myself, my staff, and the patient function as a team, band together and work to get them taken care of. We involve the patient very heavily in terms of being involved in their own outcomes — the patients love it and have real ownership in their outcomes.
Noam Stadlan, MD. NorthShore Neurological Institute and NorthShore Spine Center (Evanston and Skokie, Ill.): This year I am increasing my utilization of a cortical trajectory for my lumbar pedicle screws. In properly selected patients, this allows for excellent decompression and fixation with a mini-open incision. It allows excellent visualization and access while at the same time minimizes muscle retraction and incision length.