Becker's ASC Review

66 ORTHOPEDICS City Average salary Vs. national 1. Indianapolis $483,208 +10% 2. Denver $459,095 +5% 3. Charlotte, N.C. $449,454 +2% 4. Dallas $445,515 +1% 5. Fort Worth, Texas $445,515 +1% 6. Seattle $438,727 Avg 7. Chicago $432,374 -2% 8. Houston $428,882 -2% 9. San Jose, Calif. $413,413 -6% 10. New York City $409,238 -7% Top 10 big cities for mid-career orthopedic surgeons By Marcus Robertson A mong the 20 biggest U.S. cities, there are five where early mid-career orthopedic surgeons earn a higher salary than the national average. Indianapolis is the best big city for early mid-career ortho- pedic surgeons — those with eight to 14 years of experience — according to figures from the Medscape Salary Explorer. n Spine surgeon owes $17M to paralyzed patient By Carly Behm A West Virginia man was awarded $17 million from a jury after he was left paralyzed following spine surgery, Metro News reported March 31. Four things to know: 1. According to his 2019 lawsuit, Michael Rodgers was injured in a motorcycle crash in 2017, and two days after the accident John Orphanos, MD, a neurosurgeon, ordered him to wear a back brace for six to eight weeks. Later that day, Dr. Orphanos recommended surgery, according to the lawsuit. Before the surgery, Mr. Rodgers had no neurological deficits and could move all his extremities, according to the suit. 2. Dr. Orphanos didn't order testing to determine spinal cord issues before the surgery, and he didn't know Mr. Rodgers had issues, including spinal cord compression, spinal abnormality and injury. The lawsuit alleges Dr. Orphanos went into surgery without plans to include decompression or use neurophysi- ological intraoperative monitoring. 3. After surgery, Mr. Rodgers lost motor function and sensation in his lower extremities, the lawsuit states, and the issue per- sisted after a second surgery. "He has been unable to use his lower body ever since," according to the article. 4. A Kanawha County jury awarded Mr. Rodgers $17 million March 24, after an eight-day trial. The jury found that Dr. Or- phanos was "negligent and fully responsible" for Mr. Rodger's paralysis, according to the report. n Surgical robotics market heats up as competition grows By Alan Condon T he worldwide surgical robotics market is projected to reach $18.3 billion by 2028, up from $7.8 billion in 2021, and com- petition among medtech companies is gathering momentum, according to market research and consulting firm ReAnIn. Seven insights: 1. Over the next six years, the market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 12.7 percent. 2. Competition is anticipated to intensify in the orthopedic industry, where Stryker is leading the pack, according to a March 31 news release. More than 1,000 of Stryker's Mako systems for total knee replacements have been installed worldwide. Zimmer Biomet's Rosa robot is gaining traction, and Johnson & Johnson's Velys system be- came the latest entrant in 2021. 3. Drivers of market growth include the increasing need for automa- tion in healthcare, improved efficiency and precision, flexibility and more control with surgical robots, according to the report. 4. e high cost of surgical robots could limit their adoption, par- ticularly in developing countries. For example, leading spine sur- gical robots on the market cost about $1 million. However, device companies are developing more cost-efficient robots, and the cost of these technologies is likely to come down as competition increases. 5. In the U.S., the high cost and lack of reimbursement are factors limiting the adoption of surgical robots, especially in ASCs. Proce- dure-specific robots that take up less space in the operating room are being developed for the outpatient setting. 6. General surgery accounts for about one-third of the market; or- thopedic and urological surgery account for about 20 percent each, according to the report. 7. North America had the highest share (63.4) in the surgical robot- ics market in 2021, followed by Europe (19.8 percent). n

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