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13 SPINE SURGEONS Rothman Orthopaedics surgeon to lead orthopedic oncology program By Alan Condon J ohn Abraham, MD, of Philadelphia-based Roth- man Orthopaedic Institute, is now offering ortho- pedic oncology services at Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell Township, N.J. Through the partnership, Capital Health now provides advanced surgical services, including limb-sparing techniques, total surgical removal for soft tissue sar- coma and joint revision. Dr. Abraham is an orthopedic oncology surgeon and founder of the orthopedic oncology service at Roth- man Orthopaedics. He has more than 15 years of experience treating bone and soft tissue sarcomas and metastatic cancer to the skeleton. Dr. Abraham has served as the primary orthopedic oncologist for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for the past five years. n Washington spine surgeon becomes 1st in state to perform procedure with Medtronic robot By Alan Condon A li Anissipour, DO, of Everett-based Western Washington Medical Group, was reportedly the first spine surgeon in the state to perform surgery with Medtronic's Mazor X Stealth Edition, the Herald Net reported. Three things to know: 1. Dr. Anissipour performed the first spine surgery with the Mazor X in November and the second in De- cember. 2. Costing about $1 million, the device enables sur- geons to create personalized 3D surgical plans be- fore surgery. 3. Mazor X also assists surgeons with the accurate im- plantation of pedicle screws. n Texas spine surgeons denied new trial in $40M kickback dispute By Alan Condon T hree spine surgeons were denied motions for a new trial March 23 after a Texas federal judge deemed their arguments meritless, reported Law360. In April 2019, spine surgeons Michael Rimlawi, MD, Doug- las Won, MD, and Shawn Henry, DO, and pain management physician Mrugeshkumar Shah, MD, were found guilty of bribery, and both paying and accepting kickbacks. The physicians sought a new trial, claiming that the federal Anti-Kickback Statute — the law under which they were con- victed — is unconstitutionally vague. Prosecutors argued the physicians referred patients to For- est Park Medical Center in Dallas in exchange for money to advertise their practices, which helped some of their practic- es grow significantly. The now defunct hospital was also found to have illegally paid for operations to enhance its bottom line before it closed. n Penn Medicine names Dr. Daniel Yoshor chair of neurosurgery department By Alan Condon D aniel Yoshor, MD, was appointed chair of the de- partment of neurosurgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, effective July 1. Dr. Yoshor — who focuses on brain tumors as well as endo- scopic pituitary and skull base surgery — will also serve as vice president of clinical integration and innovation for Phil- adelphia-based Penn Medicine. Currently, he serves as professor and chair of the department of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, which rose to No. 3 in the U.S. in National Institutes of Health funding under his watch. Previously he served as program director for Baylor's neu- rosurgery residency program and has operated as chief of neurosurgery at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center since 2010. Dr. Yoshor is an elected member of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and the Society of Neurological Sur- geons, an examiner for the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and section editor for the journal Neurosurgery. n