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17 SPINE SURGEONS Dr. Christopher Good performs region's 1st two-level lumbar disc replacement By Alan Condon C hristopher Good, MD, debuted a two-level lumbar disc replacement in the Washington, D.C., area, according to a June 30 news release. Dr. Good, of Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute, performed the surgery June 25 on a patient who was living with back pain for more than 10 years. He used the ActiveL artificial disc, which has been used on one and two-level disc replacements. The unnamed patient previously tried microsurgeries and tried stem cell treatment in South America. Typically the patient would undergo a two-level spinal fusion, which would limit movement in the lower back. However, he had a family history of failed spinal fusions and wanted to explore other options. "Being able to offer a two-level lumbar disc replacement to a young healthy patient as an alternative to a spinal fusion offers significant benefits to that patient in the future both improving flexibility of the spine." n dison, Texas. "Also pushing this trend is the growing attitude of physicians who prefer to avoid the ever-growing practice man- agement requirements and increasing burden of preauthoriza- tion associated with payers." 6. Private equity partnerships. More spine and orthopedic practices are considering strategic partnerships to survive and/or grow aer the COVID-19 pan- demic. Some prominent orthopedic groups recently partnered with private equity-backed platforms, including Birmingham, Ala.-based Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center and e Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo. "[Private equity] will become more important as we move toward a need for greater efficiency and a more businesslike approach to sustain our practices in the ever-changing and more challenging healthcare environment of tomorrow," Kornelis Poelstra, MD, PhD, of e Robotic Spine Institute of Silicon Valley in Los Gatos, Calif., told Becker's. "e upside will be the introduction of much greater business acumen and efficiencies that could allow us to stay away from hospital employment and possibly boost the bottom line for all," Dr. Poelstra said. "e downside would be that decisions could be forced upon us by nonclinicians solely for monetary gain, which is in stark contrast with the way we have usually prac- ticed and approached the people we care for." n