Here are six spine and neurosurgeons making headlines this week.
Washoe Valley, Nevada-based Renown Health recognized Jay Morgan, MD, with the 2019 Arthur J. Lurie, MD, Distinguished Physician Award for outstanding healthcare contributions to the Northern Nevada community. Dr. Morgan is an assistant professor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno and serves on the board as president-elect for the Washoe County Medical Society.
More than 99,000 people watched neurosurgeons Randall Graham, MD, and Bartley Mitchell, MD, remove a tumor from a patient's brain in an awake neurosurgical procedure. The operation was livestreamed on Facebook by Methodist Dallas Medical Center, where neurosurgeons opened the patient's skull to ensure they did not damage the parts of her brain that control speech.
Martin Quirno, MD, spoke to Becker's about the impact a single-payer system would have on spine and the biggest challenge facing spine surgeons today.
Sioux City, S.D.-based Sanford Health is settling a lawsuit with the federal government that accused former Sanford neurosurgeon Wilson Asfora, MD, of anti-kickback violations. Sanford agreed to settle the whistle-blower lawsuit for more than $20 million, which accused Dr. Asfora of performing unnecessary surgeries using medical devices that he had ownership interest in.
Nitin Khanna, MD, and Franciscan Health in Mishawaka, Ind., are participating in a study on the long-term prognosis for patients undergo micro decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. As coinvestigator in the study, Dr. Khanna will evaluate how patients perform after surgery over the next five years.