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15 SPINE LEADERSHIP Dr. Robert Spetzler to Resign as Barrow Neurological Institute's President, CEO; Dr. Michael Lawton to Take the Helm By Megan Wood R obert Spetzler, MD, is resigning from his post as president and CEO of Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, according to azcentral. Here are five things to know: 1. They 71-year-old brain surgeon joined Barrow in 1983 as the chair of the neurosurgery department. 2. Michael Lawton, MD, vice chair- man of the neurological surgery department at the University of Cali- fornia San Francisco, will replace Dr. Spetzler in July 2017. 3. Barrow reported Dr. Spetzler has performed more aneurysm procedures than any other brain surgeon. 4. Dr. Spetzler co-developed the Spetzler-Martin AVM grading sys- tem, which is designed to describe the severity of critical lesions. 5. Dr. Spetzler said he enjoyed teaching the next generation of neu- rosurgeons through Barrow's brain surgery residency program. n The Top-Performing Spine Surgeons Have These Qualities in Common By Anuja Vaidya Question: What are the essential quali- ties of top-performing spine surgeons? Brian R. Gantwerker, MD. e Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: I don't know if I can necessarily consider myself in this category. But I do consider myself lucky enough to practice where I do and have been fortunate enough to have an amazing partner in my wife. She helped me set the foundation and scrape together this practice in the beginning and continuously helps it thrive. So firstly, you need someone besides you who is dedicated to you succeeding. To be successful would also I guess be dependent on your abil- ity to get and hold on to patients and referring doctors, establish a good reputation and have reproducibly good outcomes. On the other side, I also think being able to critically evaluate your outcomes and mistakes, take responsibility when things go sideways and not judge others' work more harshly than your own is important. One last important quality is an ability to ex- plain a surgery to a patient in a clear manner and offer concise and fair advice on what you think the next step will be. If you are trust- worthy, confident and can answer the patient's questions, you have a good chance of getting into that upper echelon. J. Brian Gill, MD, MBA. Spine Surgeon at Ne- braska Spine Hospital (Omaha): e essential qualities are what we all have heard but may not always embrace, include availability, affability and ability. Providing quality care to the patients you serve and treating each as your own family goes a long way in the care that you provide. at may sound a bit cliché but it›s the truth. I think being honest with your patients and telling them what they need to hear and not what they want to hear is very important. Finally, every encounter that you have with a patient, nurse, administrator, scrub tech, etcet- era, is an opportunity to market yourself. You can choose to market yourself in a favorable light or one that less than desirable. We all have to remember that we are in a service industry and the consumer is our patients, and we are only as good as the last patient that we treat. Rojeh Melikian, MD. DISC Sports & Spine Center (Marina del Rey, Calif.): Patience, experience and the urge to never stop learning. Vladimir Sinkov, MD. Spine Surgeon at New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center (Nash- ua): An excellent spine surgeon should first of all be an excellent clinician. e most critical task for better outcomes of surgeries is not the mechanical performance of the surgery, but knowing which patients would actually benefit from the surgery and what is the best way to perform such surgery on that particu- lar patient. e surgeon must have excellent bedside manner — it builds trust and ensures maximum compliance of the patient with the surgeon's recommendations. e top-performing surgeon must never stop learning. e knowledge base in spine sur- gery is increasing rapidly. Staying on top of it. Learning the newest techniques, treatments, diagnostic modalities and outcomes studies will allow such a surgeon to take the best pos- sible care of his or her patients. Mark Nolden, MD. Spine Surgeon at NorthShore Orthopaedic Institute (Chica- go): Stamina is what top-performing spine surgeons need most. ey have long and demanding hours. High volumes are expected to grow as the patient population ages, so they need to stay strong physically and mentally to meet today's spine care needs. n 8 States With Premium Hikes of 30%+s 30% By Mary Rechtoris F or plans on HealthCare.Gov, monthly premiums will increase by 25 percent, on average, for 2017, with some states having premium increases surpassing 30 percent. Time Money lists the following states that will have premiums greater than 30 percent next year. 1. Georgia: 32 percent 2. Pennsylvania: 33 percent 3. Nebraska: 35 percent 4. Alabama: 36 percent 5. Illinois: 44 percent 6. Tennessee: 44 percent to 62 percent 7. Minnesota: 50 percent to 67 percent 8. Oklahoma: 76 percent. n