Orthopedics This Week

Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jamie Alexandra Dale is seeking justice and $31 million after she was attacked and left for dead by her ex-boyfriend and former NFL player Curtis Jordan. Her permanent injuries have left her unable to continue her surgery practice. Her story is not only heartbreaking but an indication of the economic toll this attack represented.

Which companies will increase shoulder and foot/ankle market share in 2017. In mid-December we received a flashlight into the opaque future of those two dynamic extremity markets. The early Xmas gift came courtesy of top global medical technology analyst, Glenn Novarro. Here is what we learned.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tom Price is in charge of implementing President-elect Trump’s promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. He faces a 2,000 page long law and a Rubik’s Cube of rules and regulations. But he is the right guy for the job having led the Republican effort over the last couple of years to design an alternative plan. Can Obamacare be untwisted? What does it mean for orthopedics? We find out. 

It’s not a revolution, but it is changing orthopedics. 3D printing produced the fastest new product launch in Stryker Spine’s history. It also represented 20% of the winning spine technologies for 2016. Stryker’s rousing success with Tritanium has lessons for everyone. Here they are.

This week’s Orthopaedic Crossfire® debate tackles the sometimes contentious subject of patella resurfacing. Jess Lonner says it is rarely, if ever, necessary. Steven Haas finds a slew of meta studies that say otherwise. Who wins? You be the judge.

NASS new guidance document regarding bone growth stimulators for spine fusion brings clarity to an often confusing gaggle of products and indications. Bottom line, the evidence supports some bone stimulators and not others in spine fusion. Here’s the story.

To tourniquet or to not tourniquet, that is the question. Dickey Jones says “Let it Bleed”. Keith Berend fights mightily to defend a near defenseless position. But at the end of the day, the winner, it seems, is tranexamic acid. Get ready to read one of the most unusual CCJR debates yet. Have fun folks.

RBC’s excellent spine surgeon survey, now in its eighth year, was released a couple of weeks ago and it provided many insightful, even surprising, results. Which products are spine surgeons most excited about? What do they think is happening with reimbursement? Is their business growing or declining? Here are RBC’s answers.

Robots, 3D printing and clever strategies for navigating the spinal anatomy dominated this year’s winning technologies. Clearly we are in an environment where risk reduction rules. And so our panel selected impressively clever technologies which make every surgeon even more perfect…and awesome. Congratulations to each and every winner!

Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush is welcoming five new physicians! New research from Australia is re-examining an old vertebroplasty debate. ZendyHealth and Kerlan-Jobe have teamed up to offer a “name your price” surgery option.

A new, data driven tool which cuts patient assessment time from weeks to, literally, 30 seconds is the hot new technology for professional athletes. Eventually, maybe sooner, it will be coming to a large joint clinic near you. Maybe your clinic. This innovation feels like a game changer. It measures muscle health and therefore rehab milestones and progress.

To stem or not to stem, that is the question when faced with a specifically complex primary or revision knee arthroplasty because of deformity or instability. New Zealander Kelly Vince gives the pro-stem case while HSS’ Thomas Sculco shows himself to be a stem-less kind of guy. Who wins? The reader. Another truly excellent and informative debate from CCJR.

Patient specific instrumentation: added cost with no proven value or an evolving technology to raise outcomes and improve OR efficiencies? This very timely debate pits two great surgeon/scientists against each other and in the process sheds light and understanding on this critical issue.

The hype surrounding Zimmer Biomet’s Vanguard ID had us double checking with our surgeon friends. They told us this is actually a particularly interesting innovation in total knee arthroplasty. Apparently, the venerable Vanguard knee is still capable of a few new tricks. Here’s what we learned.

Is chemonucleolysis for painful lower back disc herniation returning? In the 1980s chymopapain achieved fairly wide spread use as a chemonucleolysis agent. Outcomes were highly technique and patient selection dependent. It eventually left the market. Now two large firms have inked a deal to bring a new chemonucleolysis approach to market. Will this one work?

Medical marijuana is the law in 23 states, 1.2 million marijuana cards have been issued and the two most common reasons for getting a medical marijuana card are back and arthritis pain. How should orthopedists in those states deal with the phenomenon of medical marijuana? We have some answers.

In the exam room, OR, or the research lab, these are some of the top sports knee surgeons in North America.

New JBJS study offers an intriguing look at an extended release steroid injection for knee pain.  Authors Bodick, Lufkin and Kumar report that extended release triamcinolone acetonide (TCA) prolongs and amplifies pain relief in arthritic knees.

From the late 1990s to today, the number of annual deaths from preventable medical errors has increased roughly four-fold. What is going on? Former head of patient safety at AAOS tackles this troubling statistic head on and discusses new efforts to stem the rising tide of adverse surgical events in the U.S.

Acetabular bone loss and impaction grafting, for which patients is it good strategy, which patients is it a ‘no-way’ strategy and is it overly technique dependent? Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle and Allan Gross, with Daniel Berry moderating, tackle this important and impactful (pun intended) subject.