Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/936525
10 SPINE SURGEONS Barred VA Neurosurgeon Continues to Receive $339k Annual Salary: 5 Insights By Mackenzie Garrity D espite being barred in 2014 and fired in 2016, Mohamed Eleraky, MD, is still on staff at the Mont- gomery (Miss.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center and being paid his $339,177 without performing surgeries for three and a half years, the Clarion Ledger reports. Here are five insights: 1. In 2013, Dr. Eleraky's operating privileges were suspended aer a spinal fusion didn't go as planned. Dr. Eleraky remained on staff for a year until the VA suspended his clini- cal privileges. 2. Aer two years of inaction, the VA fired Dr. Eleraky in 2016 aer the neurosurgeon filed complaints to the VA headquarters about his inability to resolve the suspension. e medical center was "forced to reinstate" him earlier this year. 3. During his two years of inaction, the VA paid Dr. Eleraky $1 million. Dr. Eleraky's hospital privileges have also expired, and he is waiting on the VA to allow him to take a skills assessment. 4. Dr. Eleraky claims he was inappropriately disciplined for his refusal to amend patient records, his ethnicity and in retaliation for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint. Because he is not licensed in Mississippi, the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure has no jurisdic- tion to investigate. 5. Dr. Eleraky's case is not unusual. In 2016, a study found VA medical centers across the country continue to pay millions in admin- istrative leave to physicians with "question- able track records." n Jury Sides With Patient in $8M Malpractice Case Against Nurses Who Re-Broke His Neck — 5 Insights By Megan Wood R oswell, Ga.-based North Fulton Medical Center will pay a patient $8 mil- lion as a result of a seven-day trial in the Fulton County State Court, ac- cording to Daily Report. Here are five insights: 1. Charles Weaver, MD, of North Fulton Medical Center, performed a cervical decompression and anterior spinal fusion surgery on the defendant in 2011after he sustained injuries from a car accident. Post-surgery, the man was recovering in the hospital and alleged a nurse re-broke his neck when she moved him from a chair to a bed. 2. The nurses did not document the incident, and the hospital reported the event with the nurses never occurred. 3. The defendant's lawyers argued the patient's permanent damage could have been reversed or subdued if the nurses had reported the incident. The patient underwent a second surgery days after the injury; his legs are paralyzed. 4. The jury found North Fulton at fault for paralyzing the patient. The jury did not find Dr. Weaver at fault in the case. 5. The patient received $6.8 million and the patient's wife received $1.2 million in a loss of consortium claim. n Tiger Woods Returns After 4th Spine Surgery — Will Dr. Richard Guyer's Efforts Keep the Pain at Bay? By Megan Wood R ichard Guyer, MD, of Plano-based Texas Back Institute, performed anteri- or lumbar interbody fusion on Tiger Woods in April. Here are five things to know: 1. The surgery allowed the golf legend to re-enter the sports scene Nov. 30 for his first tournament in 10 months, according to SportsDay. 2. Dr. Guyer performed the minimally invasive fusion at L5/S1, removing a dam- aged disc from Mr. Woods' spine. 3. This is Mr. Woods' fourth spine surgery, each initially viewed as successes al- lowing him to return to play. Each time, though, Mr. Woods' back pain returned. 4. Mr. Woods commented in November he needed an enhanced quality of life, as his back pain stopped him from doing many activities, from sports to going out to dinner. 5. Dr. Guyer co-founded the Texas Back Institute. He serves as director of the institute's spine fellowship program and co-director of the Center for Disc Re- placement. n