Becker's Spine Review

37 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Spine surgeon Dr. Johnny Benjamin found guilty, faces possibility of life in prison By Mackenzie Garrity A jury found Vero Beach, Fla., spine sur- geon Johnny Benjamin, MD, guilty of five counts of felony, the Sebastian Daily reports. Dr. Benjamin was charged with illegal drug dis- tribution. Investigators also charged the surgeon with providing a painkiller laced with fentanyl and caused the death of woman in 2016. Two Drug Enforcement Administration infor- mants pled guilty to selling prescriptions and counterfeit painkillers for Dr. Benjamin. Both in- formants worked with the prosecution to convict Dr. Benjamin, admitting they helped build Dr. Benjamin's supply of illegal drugs. The jury reached a verdict after the week-long trial. Dr. Benjamin will remain in federal custody until his July 6 sentencing hearing. He faces the possibility of life in prison. n 4 spine surgeons predictions for minimally invasive spinal fusion By Mackenzie Garrity S pine surgery continues to become more complex, but as surgeons take on more complex cases, technology advances to assist. Four spine surgeons provided their predictions for the future of minimally invasive spinal fusion pro- cedures. Ali Araghi, DO. Director of spine at The CORE Institute in Phoenix: Mini- mally invasive spinal fusions are here to stay. Those who choose to not offer or perform minimally invasive surgery, over time will experience significant attrition in their practice and surgical volumes. Jeffrey Goldstein, MD. Chief of Spine Services, Education & Director of Spine Fellowship at NYU Langone Health in New York City: I believe that the performance of robotics and naviga- tion will enhance our ability to perform minimally invasive surgery. I would look forward to less radiation to patients and staff, improved precision and hopefully continued improvement in outcomes. Michael Hisey, MD. Spine surgeon at Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas: I expect continued steady increases in the use of minimally invasive spine fusion techniques. As more surgeons become trained in and comfortable with the MIS techniques these will be offered to more patients with a broadening range of di- agnoses. The early adopter surgeons have worked to refine the techniques and improve the results as they have navigated their way through the learn- ing curve. The techniques are becoming more teachable and reproducible and are achieving comparable fusion and deformity correction results. At the same time, MIS implants, instruments and even guidance systems are steadily improving in reliability and usability. MIS was and continues to be a hit with patients who are demanding treatments that have shorter hospitalizations and quicker re- turn to comfort and activities. This is true for all aspects of medical care, but is par- ticularly true with spine fusions, because the previously long periods of discom- fort and activity limitations after surgery. With greater demand and excellent re- sults, there will be pressure on even the late adopter surgeons to integrate the newer and less invasive techniques into their practices. Isador Lieberman, MD. Spine surgeon at Texas Back Institute: Minimally in- vasive spine fusions will become more effective and efficient over the next five years. The technology available today including biologics and robotics will fa- cilitate predictability in outcome, auto- mation and precision of the technique. These factors will drive the evolution of spinal fusions to outpatient procedures. n Orthofix reports 5.8% Q1 net sales increase, completes Spinal Kinetics acquisition: 5 key notes By Laura Dyrda O rthofix reported a 5.8 percent increase in net sales for the first quarter of 2018. Here are five things to know. 1. e company reported net income from continuing operations at $5.2 million, compared to a $2.3 million loss over the same period last year. Orthofix acquired Spinal Kinetics during the quarter. 2. e business unit breakdown for net sales is as follows: • Biostim: $46.2 million, a 3.6 percent in- crease • Extremity fixation: $27.5 million, a 14.9 percent increase • Spine fixation: $20.7 million, a 7.5 percent increase • Biologics: $14.3 million, a 4.4 percent de- crease Overall, the company reported $108.7 mil- lion in net sales. 3. EBITDA was reported at $15.2 million, up from $6.6 million in the first quarter of the previous year. Orthofix's cash and cash equivalents were $77.1 million at the end of the quarter. 4. For the full year, Orthofix expects to re- port $458 million to $464 million in net sales. 5. e company completed its acquisition of Spinal Kinetics on April 30, a month aer the quarter closed. e transaction includes $45 million in cash plus another $60 million in future contingent milestone payment for FDA approval of the M6-C cervical disc. n

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