Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1198635
17 SPINE SURGEONS Dr. Noah Porter joins OrthoNebraska — 3 insights By Eric Oliver O maha-based OrthoNebraska brought aboard orthopedic spine surgeon Noah Porter, MD, the Omaha World-Herald reports. What you should know: 1. Dr. Porter earned his medical de- gree from Omaha-based Creighton University, completed a residency at Omaha-based University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed a fel- lowship at Pittsburgh-based UPMC. 2. He wanted to join OrthoNebraska because it's "very patient-focused care specific to musculoskeletal conditions." 3. Dr. Porter will complement the ef- forts of neurological surgeon George Greene, MD, and physical medicine physician Matthew Hahn, MD. n Dr. Kurtis Auguste uses VR to prepare for surgeries at California hospital By Alan Condon P ediatric neurosurgeon Kurtis Auguste, MD, is using virtual reality to plan procedures at University of San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland. The VR system, designed by Surgical Theater, allows surgeons to wear a headset and travel virtually through a 3D model of the patient's brain. Users can navigate hand controls to see blood vessels, vision fibers and tumors or aneurysms. Dr. Auguste is also using the tech- nology to educate patients and their families about the procedure. n Spinal disc replacement in hospitals vs. ASCs: 5 findings By Laura Dyrda A new study published in Clin- ical Spine Surgery compares the cost of inpatient spine surgery with procedures performed in an ASC. The study authors examined out- comes for patients undergoing artificial disc replacement in both hospitals and ASCs between 2009 and 2011. There were 2,159 pa- tients who underwent spine surgery in California, Florida and New York over that time period. The research- ers retrieved the data from the State Inpatient and Ambulatory Databas- es. Five findings: 1. Of the patients studied, 1,789 un- derwent inpatient procedures while 370 had outpatient surgery. 2. The ambulatory patients were more likely to present at the emer- gency department within 30 days of surgery; 5.14 percent of the ambu- latory patients did, compared with 4.2 percent of inpatients. 3. Around 1 percent of the ambula- tory patients reported 30-day read- missions, compared to 2.2 percent in the inpatient group. 4. None of the ambulatory patients underwent reoperations within 30 days of the initial surgery, com- pared to six patients in the inpatient group. 5. Cumulative charges for the 90- day episode of care were $46,404 on average in the ASC, compared to $80,055 for the hospital inpa- tient setting. Direct costs were also lower in the ASC, at $1,059, com- pared with $17,033 for the inpatient group. n Dr. William Sullivan succeeds Dr. Jeffrey Wang as NASS president — 4 things to know By Alan Condon P hysiatrist William Sullivan, MD, was appointed president of the North American Spine Society at the organization's annual meeting in Chicago Sept. 25-28. Four things to know: 1. Dr. Sullivan succeeded spine surgeon Jeffrey Wang, MD, as president of NASS, ahead of the society's 35th annual meeting in San Diego in 2020. 2. He is a physiatrist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and service chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Nashville VA/Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. 3. During his term, Dr. Sullivan aims to "strengthen the collaboration between different spe- cialties and other societies, while maintaining the high standards set by NASS." 4. NASS consists of over 8,500 members from various specialties including orthopedic sur- gery, neurosurgery, physiatry, neurology and anesthesiology. n