Becker's Spine Review

6 SPINE SURGEONS Rutgers places neurosurgery chief on administrative leave following 'ghost surgery' allegations By Alan Condon A nil Nanda, MD, head of neurosur- gery at Rutgers University's two medical schools in New Jersey, has been put on paid administrative leave aer allegations of professional misconduct, according to nj.com. e university's decision stems from the surgeon's alleged behavior at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Bruns- wick; Rutgers officials have not disclosed what caused the disciplinary action. Howev- er, sources close to the matter told the pub- lication allegations involved the scheduling of multiple surgeries, parts of which other surgeons may have performed. e practice, known as "ghost surgeries," describes inci- dents where a surgeon operates on another physician's patient — the surgeons are aware of the arrangement, but the patient is not. Dr. Nanda, who earns $2.2 million per year, will not provide any clinical, academic or other services at Rutgers or its affiliates until an independent investigation is completed, according to the report. An attorney for the surgeon declined to com- ment to nj.com. Rutgers officials did not re- spond to Becker's request for comment. e neurosurgeon joined Rutgers and West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health in 2018 from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. ere, he served as chair of the medical school's department of neurosurgery until he was abruptly removed from the position in 2017, according to the Shreveport Times. n Dr. John Shin spearheads Mass General's AR spine program By Alan Condon M assachusetts General Hospital in Boston has implemented augmented reality technology in its operating rooms to assist surgeons performing spine procedures. John Shin, MD, Kingdon-Saylor endowed chair in spine neuro- surgery and director of spinal deformity and oncology surgery, spearheaded the introduction of the technology at the hospital. When using AR, surgeons wear a headset that provides com- puter-generated images of CT scans into their eyepieces dis- playing information superimposed over the patient's anato- my in real time. The technology allows surgeons to accurately navigate in- struments and implants while looking at the patient instead of a screen. "When performing spine surgery, we are typically working within millimeters of critical structures such as the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels," Dr. Shin said in a Nov. 12 news release. "Whether for minimally invasive or complex recon- struction surgeries, the stakes are extremely high. This tech- nology not only helps us plan and perform these surgeries, but also helps ensure accuracy while minimizing surgical risks and complications." Mass General is incorporating the AR technology into its res- idency and fellowship programs, which is "critical to driving innovation in our field and training future leaders in spine surgery," Dr. Shin said. n 7 high-profile spine surgeries that took place in 2021 By Carly Behm From television stars to athletes, here are seven spine cases that made headlines in 2021: 1. Tiger Woods underwent a microdiscectomy to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching his nerve in January. 2. Actress Katherine Heigl had two titanium discs im- planted into her neck in March at Watkins Spine in Ma- rina Del Rey, Calif. 3. Retired motorcycle racer Carey Hart had lower disc replacement at Newport Beach, Calif.-based DISC Sports & Spine Center in September. 4. Daytime television host Whoopi Goldberg had sur- gery for a sciatica flare up at New York City-based Hos- pital for Special Surgery in September. 5. NHL Vegas Golden Knights player Jack Eichel had an artificial disc replacement in November. 6. Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. had spine surgery at Dallas-based Carrell Clinic, the team said Dec. 1. 7. Robert Watkins IV, MD, performed back surgery on Brook Lopez, an NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks, according to a Dec. 2 report.

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