Becker's ASC Review

74 ORTHOPEDICS Orthopedic surgeon permanently banned from prescribing drugs, practicing in New Jersey By Alan Condon N ew Jersey officials permanently banned Evangelos Megariotis, MD, former owner and operator of Clifton (N.J.) Orthopedic Associates, from practicing or prescrib- ing drugs in the state, the Garfield-Lodi Daily Voice reported. Mr. Megariotis treated patients with complaints that included hypertension, upper respiratory issues, attention deficit disorder and post-thrombotic syndrome. He allegedly prescribed drugs such as Xanax, Adderall and cough syrup with codeine without a complete medical history, physical exam or referrals to specialists. The surgeon kept patients on pain pills for years without cause, failed to diagnose or treat underlying conditions, improperly treated conditions outside his area of expertise and operated on patients "without first establishing a legitimate medical need," state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said June 14. Mr. Megariotis also faces federal charges related to the dis- tribution of more than 3.25 million opioid doses in "pill mill" clinics and physician offices throughout the Northeast, He is one of 54 defendants, 15 of whom are physicians, who prosecutors said participated in an $800 million health insur- ance scheme. Some have pleaded guilty, but many are still awaiting trial, according to the report. n Florida surgeon performs area's 1st outpatient awake spinal fusion By Alan Condon T he first outpatient awake spinal fusion in Florida's Tampa Bay area was reportedly performed by Samuel Joseph, MD, of Joseph Spine Institute. The minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion procedure combines endoscopic surgical techniques with contemporary anesthesia. Patients are treated with localized pain blocks, avoiding the need for general anesthesia and opioids after surgery. Advantages of awake spinal fusion can include reduced cost, decreased procedure time, quicker recovery, less damage to soft tissue, and easier access to intervertebral disc space for disc prep and cage placement, according to a July 22 news release. It also eliminates the risks associated with general anesthesia. Only a handful of spine surgeons in the U.S. have performed this technique. n 7 patent disputes involving surgeons, device companies By Alan Condon B ecker's has reported on seven patent infringement cases in 2021 that involve orthopedic device com- panies and/or surgeons: 1. Stryker in July agreed to pay $15 million to resolve a patent dispute that Conformis filed against Wright Medical, which Stryker acquired in November. e lawsuit alleged that several of Wright Medical's shoul- der instruments — and implant components used in conjunction with them — infringed upon Conformis' patents. 2. In July, Medacta agreed to pay at least $12 million to settle allegations of patent infringement and tortious in- terference against MicroPort Orthopedics, a developer of knee and hip implants. 3. Mark Barry, MD, a Las Vegas-based pediatric ortho- pedic and scoliosis surgeon, filed patent infringement cases against Alphatec and SeaSpine in June. Dr. Barry alleges the device companies both sell spinal alignment devices that infringe his patents, and is seeking cash compensation to be determined at a trial. 4. Safe Orthopaedics won a patent infringement case against Neo Medical in May aer a court found the company was importing and selling products on French territory that reproduced characteristics of one of Safe Orthopaedics' patents. e court ruled that Neo Medi- cal cannot market or import its pedicle screw kit on French territory and must destroy any remaining stock of them. 5. A preliminary injunction was issued in April against Aegis Spine to prevent the marketing and sale of its AccelFix-XT line of expandable cages, which a court determined were reverse engineered from Life Spine's ProLi expandable cage. 6. Roger Jackson, MD, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against NuVasive in January. e lawsuit alleges NuVasive is selling spinal screws that infringe up to eight of Dr. Jackson's patents. He is seeking cash com- pensation and a court order blocking "further unau- thorized use" of his inventions. 7. Arthrodesis filed a patent infringement suit against Wright Medical in January. e case alleges Wright Medical's Valor Hindfoot Fusion System infringes on a patent granted to Rama Chandran, MD — owner of Ar- throdesis — in 2003 related to a surgical rod-and-screw kit for ankle arthrodesis. n

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