Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1089830
8 SPINE SURGEONS Neurosurgeon, plastic surgeon sue Nebraska hospital, alleging wrongful suspension: 5 things to know By Laura Dyrda A pediatric neurosurgeon and a plastic surgeon filed a lawsuit against a Nebraska-based hospital and its CEO over an alleged wrongful suspension, accord- ing to court documents. Here are five things to know: 1. Pediatric neurosurgeon Mark Puccioni, MD, and plastic surgeon Jason Miller, MD, were sus- pended aer reporting concerns about whether a colleague was competent enough to perform surgery at Omaha, Neb.-based Children's Hos- pital & Medical Center. Dr. Puccioni initially reported concerns about pediatric neurosur- geon Adam Conley, MD, in 2017 shortly aer Children's CEO Richard Azizkhan, MD, en- couraged him to hire Dr. Conley. 2. According to the lawsuit, aer Dr. Puccioni expressed concerns about Dr. Conley, Dr. Con- ley spread rumors about Dr. Puccioni abusing drugs; as a result, Dr. Puccioni underwent drug testing and a psychological evaluation. 3. In 2018, Dr. Puccioni and Dr. Miller reported concerns about Dr. Conley aer one of his pa- tients died during surgery. 4. e lawsuit claims both Dr. Puccioni and Dr. Miller were suspended shortly aer expressing concerns. According to the complaint, "Dr. Azizkhan and Dr. Conley knowingly, wrongful- ly, intentionally and tortuously participated in the effort to destroy the practices and reputa- tions of Dr. Miller and Dr. Puccioni." 5. e surgeons also claimed Children's Hos- pital & Medical Center misled patients to be- lieve Dr. Puccioni and Dr. Miller either retired, moved away or were unavailable. Children's Hospital released a statement to the lo- cal NBC affiliate, stating the organization doesn't comment on pending litigation, but does "strong- ly disagree with these allegations." n Neurosurgeon average salary tops $591K — 5 statistics to know By Mackenzie Garrity Among physicians, neurosurgeons make among the top salaries at $591,767 on average, according to salary.com. Five statistics to know: 1. Neurosurgeons in the 25th percentile earn around $445,494 annually. 2. Neurosurgeons in the 75th percentile have a base salary of $748,825 on average. 3. When combining salary plus bonuses, neurosurgeons earn $615,888 on average annually. 4. In the 25th percentile, neurosurgeon's annual salary and bonuses totals $474,172. 5. In the 75th percentile, neurosurgeon's annual salary and bonuses totals $738,947. n Medtronic loses challenge to patent infringement decision awarding spine surgeon $23M: 3 takeaways By Laura Dyrda A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous judgment in a patent infringement case that ordered Medtronic to pay millions of dollars to a spine surgeon, according to Bloomberg Law. Three things to know: 1. In 2014, spine surgeon Mark Barry, MD, sued Medtronic claiming mul- tiple patent infringements on his patent titled: "System and Method for Aligning Vertebrae in the Ameliorating of Aberrant Spinal Column Devia- tion Conditions." Medtronic argued against Dr. Barry's allegations. 2. The jury found in favor of Dr. Barry, who was awarded $15.1 million for one patent and $2.6 million for the other; the final judgment requires Medtronic to pay $17.7 million for two patent infringements as well as a 20 percent enhancement on both patents' damages and about $2.4 million in prejudgment interest. 3. Medtronic challenged the decision, but on Jan. 24, the Appeals Court affirmed the jury's original decision and upheld the award of $23 million to Dr. Barry. Dr. Barry is now retired from practice in the U.S. and serves as the director of Children's Orthopedics Education for Developing Nations, an organiza- tion he developed under the Non-Governmental Organization Global Help Initiative that aims to provide in-country fellowship-level training to ortho- pedic surgeons in developing countries. n