Becker's Spine Review

27 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Dr. Hugh Bassewitz predicts more spine surgeons migrating to robotic technology By Alan Condon H ugh Bassewitz, MD, is a spine sur- geon with Las Vegas-based Desert Orthopaedic Center, which is cele- brating its 50th anniversary this year. Here, Dr. Bassewitz discusses the key to DOC's success, his experience with robotic spine surgery and how he sees the technology developing in the future. Note: Responses are lightly edited for style and clarity. Question: Fifty years is quite a signif- icant milestone. What has been the practice's key to success? Dr. Hugh Bassewitz: We have worked very hard to develop and maintain a culture at DOC that fosters collaboration and coopera- tion. We have focused on making DOC a great place to practice for the physicians. at starts with having the right personalities that truly enjoy working as partners. We are fortunate to have physicians that understand the success of the whole company is just as important as the success of their individual practices. We believe in the credo that a rising tide will li all boats. is has created a great team atmosphere amongst the physicians and a very enjoyable workplace environment. We apply the same principles to our adminis- trative team, physician extenders, employees and support staff. e positive culture at the practice is the most important key to the high level satisfaction of our physicians and staff. Q: What are Desert Orthopaedic Cen- ter's goals? Are there any expansion plans? HB: We are always on the lookout for su- perbly trained orthopedic surgeons that will mesh well with our collaborative culture. Our most recent facility expansion was four years ago when we opened our fourth location in the southwest area of Las Vegas. We recently expanded our sports medicine department with our first sports medicine family practice specialist, which expanded our sports team coverage. We also added a pain management service with a physiatrist and an anesthesiolo- gy pain management physician. Both service line expansions have been very successful. Q: I understand you're trained in the ExcelsiusGPS robotic navigation sys- tem. What has your experience been with this device so far? HB: Our robotic program began in the mid- dle of 2019 and my team and I have per- formed over 25 ExcelsiusGPS robotic cases so far. It has been an excellent tool to enhance and expand our minimally invasive fusion procedures. It has also been beneficial with patients that are of above average size and with patients that have dysplastic pedicles that would otherwise have been extremely difficult to instrument. Q: How do you see robotic technolo- gy developing in spine surgery in the next five years? HB: I have been very satisfied with this tech- nology and expect it to grow in use over time. Over the next five years, I believe more and more surgeons will migrate to some form of navigated robotic technology due to its accu- racy and less radiation exposure for the pa- tient and surgical team. n Medtronic acquires privately held company developing spinal cord stimulation therapy By Alan Condon M edtronic on Jan. 8 acquired Stimgenics, developer of the Differential Target Multiplexed spinal cord stimulation therapy. Four things to know: 1. The DTM spinal cord stimulation therapy is a programming option used to treat patients with chronic pain and is adminis- tered through the Medtronic Intellis system. 2. Medtronic will present three month results from a random- ized control trial studying DTM versus traditional SCS at the North American Neuromodulation Society 23rd Annual Meet- ing in Las Vegas from Jan. 23 to 26. 3. The transaction is expected to be neutral to Medtronic's fiscal year 2020 earnings per share and meet its long-term financial goals for acquisitions. 4. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. n Former Medtronic, Bioventus executive becomes CEO at BlueWind Medical By Alan Condon D aniel Lemaitre began his new role as CEO at neurostimulation company BlueWind Medical on Jan. 1. Three things to know: 1. Previously Mr. Lemaitre served as CEO of CoreValve, which was acquired by Medtronic for $800 million in 2009, and chairman of Bioventus, according to his LinkedIn. 2. He operated as Medtronic's senior vice president of strategy and business development before the CoreV- alve acquisition. 3. BlueWind develops implantable neurostimulators for the spinal cord, deep brain and occipital nerve. n

• Cover