Becker's ASC Review

13 ORTHOPEDICS Who is the best spine surgeon in the US? ChatGPT answers By Carly Behm ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot from OpenAI, has become popular for its practical and entertaining applications. On April 18, Becker's posed the question, "Who is the best spine surgeon in the United States?" ChatGPT didn't give a definitive answer. Instead, it said its limited knowledge base held it back from providing a name. "As an Al language model, I do not have access to real-time data and my knowledge is based on a cutoff date in 2021," the bot said. "erefore, I am unable to provide you with the current information on who the best spine surgeon in the United States is, as this information may change over time and is subjective. However, there are numerous highly skilled and experienced spine surgeons across the United States who are recognized for their expertise in the field of spinal surgery. It is important to conduct thorough research, seek recommendations from trusted healthcare professionals, review patient testimonials and consider factors such as credentials, experience and patient outcomes when determining the best spine surgeon for your specific needs. It is also essential to consult with multiple healthcare providers to receive a well- rounded opinion and make an informed decision about your medical care." Becker's then asked the chatbot, "Who are the top five spine surgeons in the United States?" with the hopes names would be listed for this article. While ChatGPT didn't give a ranked list, it did provide the names of five spine surgeons who "are known for their expertise in the field." ChatGPT is still fallible, and not all surgeons it named work in the United States. ey are: Frank Schwab, MD. Northwell Health (New York City) Christopher Ames, MD. UCSF Health (San Francisco) Keith Bridwell, MD. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD. Rothman Orthopaedic Institute (Philadelphia) Michael Fehlings, MD, PhD. Toronto Western Hospital n Spine surgeon performs spinal fusion on 95-year-old patient By Carly Behm V ijay Yanamadala, MD, of Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare spoke with Becker's about a recent spine case he performed on an older patient. Note: This conversation was lightly edited for clarity. Question: You recently performed a spinal fusion on a 95-year-old patient. How did that case go? Dr. Vijay Yanamadala: So this gentleman, unbeknownst to him, had ankylosing spondylitis. He unfortunately had a fall at home really just from standing and had developed a bad three-column fracture of the thoracic spine. He came to the emergency room, fortunately still neurologically intact, and we did the imaging. So I had to do a multilevel fusion for him to stabilize this in the setting of ankylosing spondylitis. This was not an awake surgery. However, I'd love to do these types of surgeries awake, but we haven't necessarily started doing multilevel fusions awake. The man was 95 years old, and [we] did extensive preoperative optimization and clearance for him with our medical teams before we took him to surgery. Q: What was the biggest challenge with this procedure? VY: This was an extensive conversation with him and his family. He was high functioning, he was active, and what we said is that without getting surgery, he would basically be bed-bound because of this unstable fracture. You know, what we know about ankylosing spondylitis is if the patient really gets up and walks without stabilization, that patient could become paralyzed due to movement of the fracture and injury to the spinal cord. So we basically had that conversation and the patient said, "I'm used to being mobile. I'm used to being independent and living alone." So we wanted to really get him back to that functional state. And the only way we could do that is through surgery, not through bracing or really any other means. Could we stabilize this adequately to get him walking? Q: How have the outcomes been? VY: He's doing very well. He's actually back home. He's independent. He has really had a remarkable recovery, especially given his age. So he's very, very happy with how things are going. n Dr. Martin O'Malley operates on Tiger Woods By Carly Behm Professional Golfer Tiger Woods had ankle surgery on April 19, according to a statement posted on Twitter. Martin O'Malley, MD, of New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery Sports Medicine Institute, performed a subtalar fusion to address Mr. Woods' post-traumatic arthritis from a previous talus fracture. The surgery was successful, and Mr. Woods is recovering. In 2021, Mr. Woods underwent surgery on his lower right leg and ankle after a car crash. n

• Cover