Becker's Spine Review

14 SPINE Father and son duo mark 100th robotic spine surgery together By Carly Behm S arbpaul Bhalla, MD, and his son, Amandeep Bhalla, MD, completed their 100th spine surgery using the Excelsius- GPS robot as a team, according to a May 4 email to Becker's. e duo completed the milestone surgery as a team March 21, a spokesperson for MemorialCare Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center said. ey began using the technology in 2020 and were the first surgeons at the hospital to be trained on the technology. Several other spine surgeons have reached their 100th case with ExcelsiusGPS in 2022. ey include Mitchell Garden, MD; Kee Kim, MD; Vladimir Sinkov, MD; and Michael Gallizzi, MD. n How spine practices can retain a competitive advantage By Alan Condon C ompetition continues to rise among spine surgeons and practices as an increasing number of procedures move from hospitals toward the outpatient set- ting, where they can be performed at a lower cost. Three ways spine practices can re- main competitive: 1. Revamp referral strategies. An increasing number of patients are using online platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok to seek out healthcare pro- viders, which offers a significant op- portunity for surgeons to expand their patient base. "Not only do these channels provide information and knowledge, but they also allow patients to determine if they can trust the physician," said Alok Sharan, MD, of NJ Spine and Wellness in East Brunswick, N.J. "I recently performed a telehealth visit for a patient from Northwest Wash- ington who saw a lecture I gave on YouTube. From that, he determined that he could trust me and wanted to seek my opinion on what care path he should follow to manage his her- niated disc. Increasingly, we will see more of that from patients. As a result, we are creating more robust videos, which are certainly yielding more pa- tient referrals for us." 2. Stand out from the crowd. In an orthopedic market where con- solidation is booming and many larger groups have the advantage of economies of scale, smaller indepen- dent practices strive to outperform other providers though superior care, customer service or offering some- thing that not every surgeon does. "For us, I do a lot of failed spinal sur- gery, and many of those patients will come from long distances. That's one area that keeps us competitive," said James Chappuis, MD, of Spine Cen- ter Atlanta. "I like to say that we're sort of the Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue of medical practices. By that I mean we spend time and we don't rush patients through. We try to give quality care, give patients the time they need and deserve. So especially if someone's going to be paying out of network or paying cash, they're go- ing to get the extra time that a lot of the other practices just don't have the time to give." 3. Market your technology. Like surgeons, many patients seek out hospitals and ASCs with the lat- est and greatest technologies, which can be useful marketing tools. Robot- ics and augmented reality platforms are among the surgical technologies generating the most buzz in the in- dustry today and are expected to play a key role in the future of spine care. "The next generation of robots will lead to safer, more reproducible neu- ral identification and decompression by incorporating safe zones, haptic feedback and machine vision," said Kris Radcliff, MD, of Philadelphia- based Rothman Orthopaedic Insti- tute. "Robots have the potential to contribute to every spine surgery. Robots can also detect physical con- dition changes such as a loss of re- sistance or change in sound that are imperceptible to humans. Ultimately, robotic technology will enhance spine surgery in the same manner that machine vision and sensors con- tribute to self-driving vehicles." n Brooklyn Nets forward has spine surgery in California By Alan Condon R obert Watkins IV, MD, on May 5 performed spine surgery on Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons at Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital in Los Angeles, according to the NBA. Dr. Watkins performed a microdiscectomy to address a her- niated disc in Mr. Simmons' lower back. Mr. Simmons is expected to make a full recovery before the start of next season's training camp in September. n

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