Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1013189
12 SPINE SURGEONS Alaska neurosurgeon embroiled in photo lawsuit settles a spine malpractice case — 5 things to know By Megan Wood O n May 9, 2018, neurosurgeon Louis Kralick, MD, of Anchorage Neuro- surgical Associates, settled a mal- practice lawsuit concerning a spine procedure performed in 2013, according to KTVA. Dr. Kralick also made headlines in March for al- legedly photographing the genitalia of a patient undergoing spine surgery at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Here are five things to know: 1. e medical malpractice suit involved a patient undergoing a spinal fusion at Providence Alaska Medical Center in 2013. Dr. Kralick performed the procedure, but fused C4-T1 instead of the intended C3-C7. Despite X-rays showing multi- level posterior decompression and fusion at C4- T1, Dr. Kralick "falsely reported that the X-rays revealed postsurgical instrumented posterior fu- sion from C3-C7," according to court documents. 2. is surgical error resulted in the patient ex- periencing consistent pain and numbness. e patient required additional surgeries to remove the misplaced screws. 3. e terms of the settlement were not disclosed but came ahead of the jury's $275,000 award in compensatory damages to the plaintiff. e jury also found punitive damages, but the hearing was pending when the case settled. 4. e pending photograph lawsuit, filed in An- chorage Superior Court, claims Dr. Kralick sent photographs of a patient's genitalia to his wife or another third party without valid medical justi- fication. Dr. Kralick sent an apology letter to the patient but refused to give up his phone's pass- word to the district attorney's office. e lawsuit is still underway. 5. Board-certified Dr. Kralick completed his neurosurgery residency at University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. n Jury sides with spine surgeon in case of off-label use of Medtronic's Infuse: 6 things to know By Megan Wood A Los Angeles County jury found William Dobkin, MD, of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Hospital, not negligent in a case involving the off-label use of Medtronic's In- fuse, according to Courtroom View Network. Here are six things to know: 1. The plaintiff accused Dr. Dobkin, a spine surgeon, of using Infuse in an off-label application during spine surgery without her consent. 2. The jury found Dr. Dobkin was not negligent and received the "proper consent" prior to performing the plaintiff's two lumbar spine surger- ies to treat chronic back pain. 3. The plaintiff claimed she would not have given consent if aware that the FDA had not approved Infuse for lumbar surgeries. Her attorneys argued the biologic material creat- ed excessive bone growth leading to more chronic pain. 4. Dr. Dobkin's attorney argued the surgeon followed the standard of care by using Infuse, and the pa- tient's current pain is from pre-exist- ing medical conditions. 5. Medtronic dealt with many chal- lenges related to Infuse through- out the years, totaling about 6,000 official and threatened lawsuits. In 2017, the company reported- ly reached an agreement to settle "substantially all" of these lawsuits. 6. Dr. Dobkin completed his neuro- surgery fellowship at the Los Ange- les County + University of Southern California MedicalCenter. n Top New York spine surgeon leaves to join North Carolina program: 5 notes By Mackenzie Garrity S yracuse, N.Y.-based Crouse Hospital surgeon Eric Deshaies, MD, is leaving the hospital to direct a spine program in Charlotte, N.C., ac- cording to Syracuse.com. Here are five notes: 1. Dr. Deshaies left the hospital May 31. Crouse now has five neurosurgeons on staff, two of whom were trained to perform procedures similar to Dr. De- shaies. 2. Dr. Deshaies joined Crouse in 2014 to help expand the hospital's neuro- science program. 3. He was the first neurosurgeon in central New York trained to perform min- imally invasive brain procedures and open neurosurgery. 4. Dr. Deshaies is leaving his post as medical director of neurosciences to run a neurosciences program within a health system that includes three hos- pitals, various outpatient centers and 75 clinicians. 5. After earning his medical degree from University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, Dr. Deshaies completed his residency at Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center. He underwent fellowship training at Albany Medical Center. n