Becker's Spine Review

10 SPINE SURGEONS Spine surgeons not doing these 3 things will be left behind By Laura Dyrda S pine surgery is a dynamic field with evolving opportunities to succeed within the value-based healthcare eco- system. But surgeons who aren't doing these three things could be le behind. 1. Performing cases in ASCs e trend toward outpatient spine surgery be- gan well before the pandemic, but accelerated in the last two years when patients and sur- geons wanted to stay out of hospitals treating patients with COVID-19. Technology such as the endoscope also continues to make spinal procedures less invasive so it's easier for pa- tients to return home shortly aer surgery. "My hope would be that we look back in five years, congratulating ourselves for the mon- umental progress we have made in shiing cases to the outpatient world, and see these past couple years as a tipping point in that precipitous movement," said Grant Shifflett, MD, a spine surgeon with DISC Sports and Spine Center in Newport Beach, Calif. "I think if you're not on the train that's moving patients to the outpatient environment now, you'll be in an increasingly isolated position in five years." 2. Collecting clinical outcomes and pay- ment data Data collection will be crucial to delivering more personalized care in the future and proving the value of the care provided. "Data become valuable when they are reflect- ed in day-to-day performance," said Mark Vorherr, CEO of Cincinnati-based Mayfield Brain & Spine. "I believe that both qualita- tive and quantitative data are equally valuable in sustaining an elite, independent medical group. By expanding our reporting and min- ing of proactive outcomes data, we are posi- tioned to expand our leadership in high-qual- ity patient care." 3. Marketing directly to patients Surgeons are also seeing more referrals com- ing through nontraditional sources. While it will still be important to have great relation- ships with referring physicians and an out- standing word-of-mouth reputation in the community, surgeons are also seeing great results with direct-to-patient marketing. "We are seeing that more patients are going online to seek information," said Alok Sha- ran, MD, a spine surgeon with NJ Spine and Wellness in East Brunswick, N.J. "Beyond the traditional Google search, patients are look- ing for information on Youtube and social media. Not only do these channels provide information and knowledge, but they also allow patients to determine if they can trust the physician." Issada ongtrangan, MD, of Microspine in Scottsdale, Ariz., also said his main referrals now are direct consumers via Google ads and social media platforms. "Mainly, I share with them and educate them so they know their options and how my ap- proach will benefit them more than some others," he said. "I am also planning to con- nect with more patients via online webinars in 2022." n Surgeon's startup wants a slice of the $14B spinal fusion market By Alan Condon K leiner Device Labs, a startup founded by Jeff Klein- er, MD, has acquired 23 U.S. patents for its spine technologies and plans to break into the spinal fusion market, currently valued at $14 billion, according to Benzinga. Dr. Kleiner, a Denver-based spine surgeon with more than 25 years of experience, founded the company in 2013. "Frustration with existing tools and instrumentation sys- tems led me to develop a suite of tools and techniques which allow open and minimally invasive spinal surgery to be safer, easier and more efficacious," the surgeon said, according to the company's website. Kleiner's initial product, KG1, demonstrated an ability to increase spinal fusion success rates from 75 percent to 92 percent and is commercially available in the U.S. and U.K., according to the report. The KG2, or Solid State Fusion Platform, received FDA 510(k) clearance in September and is designed to provide up to three times the amount of bone-grafting material compared with traditional spinal surgery approaches. "Getting adequate graft fill volume and distribution of graft within the intervertebral disc space is one of the most vex- ing challenges in spinal fusion procedures, which led us to develop the unique flow-thru technology in our KG series products," Dr. Kleiner said. Based on comparable acquisitions in the spine industry in recent years, Kleiner Device Labs projects it could gener- ate a return of three to six times the initial investment in the next two to five years if it is acquired by one of its target medical supply companies, according to Benzinga. In fall 2021, Kleiner launched a public offering, which the company expects to oversubscribe shortly. n

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