Spine News

The American College of Surgeons released updated guidelines promoting lifelong competency and ability assessments for surgeons to enhance patient safety and preserve “physician dignity,” according to a press release.

Results showed patients who received liposomal bupivacaine for pain management during open posterior lumbar decompression and fusion required less opioids during their hospital stay vs. patients who did not receive the anesthetic.

Bioretec Ltd. received FDA breakthrough device designation for its RemeOs spinal interbody cage for use during intervertebral body fusion in the cervical spine, according to a press release.

Ventris Medical received FDA 510(k) clearance of its Amplify standalone bone graft putty, according to a company press release.

Results showed orthopedic practices may successfully implement nongovernmental bundled payment models for lumbar spinal fusion, with cost savings similar to those of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement-Advanced Initiative.

Although patients with depression presented with and maintained worse spine disease severity after lumbar spine surgery vs. those without depression, researchers found these groups experienced a similar degree of postoperative improvement.

Screening patients with psoriasis, uveitis or inflammatory bowel disease for spondyloarthritis could improve early diagnosis, but no existing screening tools are generalizable to all who are at risk, according to a scoping review.

Weather changes are not risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis or knee, hip or low back pain, but do appear to influence gout flares, according to a meta-analysis published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Orthofix Medical Inc. has announced Jason Shallenberger as president of its bone growth therapies business. The company also announced a realignment of its spine business, according to a press release.

There is much written about the virtue of compassion, which literally means “to suffer together.” A more practical definition would be sympathetic awareness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.