Becker's Spine Review

7 SPINE SURGEONS Fugitive spine surgeon's fellow surgeons speak out about working alongside him: 5 insights By Mackenzie Garrity A tiq Durrani, MD, was accused by his patients of performing unnecessary and unsatisfactory surgeries at e Centers for Advanced Spine Technologies in Cincinnati, WLWT 5 reports. e spine surgeon denied any wrongdoing and shut down allegations of misconduct. However, in separate dispositions, Dr. Durra- ni's colleagues spoke about their experiences working alongside him, noting something was wrong. Here are five insights. 1. Nael Shanti, MD, was another spine sur- geon at CAST. He was hired under the im- pression he would become a partner with Dr. Durrani; however, during his three years of employment, no partnership was made. 2. Dr. Shanti testified as part of the civil lawsuit filed by Dr. Durrani's patients. He noted Dr. Durrani oen arrived late for cases and began new cases without finishing the case prior. Dr. Durrani is also accused of operating on multiple patients at the same time. Dr. Shan- ti also testified Dr. Durrani would allegedly not let him be part of a patient's initial or fol- low-up exams and consultations. 3. Zeeshan Tayeb, MD, was a pain manage- ment specialist at Dr. Durrani's private prac- tice. He recalled one time when Dr. Durrani was allegedly performing the wrong surgery on a patient, operating on a portion of the pa- tient's spine that was not injured. However, when concerns of Dr. Durrani's be- havior were brought up, they were met with apprehension. Physical therapist Jeff Ange- line noted when he went to Dr. Durrani with concerns, Dr. Durrani le the physical thera- pist a note to no longer attend rounds. 4. A few months before Dr. Durrani was ar- rested, both Dr. Shanti and Dr. Tayeb le. ey both said they felt used by Dr. Durrani. e federal indictment against Dr. Durrani alleges the surgeon gained significant profits by convincing patients to undergo medically unnecessary spine surgeries. In the criminal complaint filed, Dr. Durrani is said to have earned $12 million from Medi- care between 2010 and 2013. 5. Along with treating fellow surgeons and staff poorly, another staff member alleges Dr. Durrani used derogatory language toward women and minorities. When the staff mem- ber reported the harassment, Dr. Durrani was reprimanded; however, he went back to using the inappropriate language shortly aer. n 'Bone loves titanium': Dr. Kade Huntsman on surface technology and the future of spine surgery By Shayna Korol S alt Lake City-based orthopedic surgeon Kade Hunts- man, MD, leads the Salt Lake Orthopaedic Clinic at St. Marks Hospital. He performs robot-assisted spine sur- gery and uses cutting-edge technologies in his procedures. Here are his thoughts on implant selection and patient care, nanotechnology, the potential of 3-D printing and the future of spine surgery. Question: How do you see implant selection, particularly the surface technology of the implant, impacting patient care? Dr. Kade Huntsman: I think implant selection is extremely important in impacting patient care. While PEEK still has the most usage, I think titanium is making huge strides. Bone loves titanium and hates PEEK. In a PEEK product, the body actually walls off the PEEK, surrounding it with fi- brous tissue. Titanium is much better, and bone grows and binds directly to the titanium. I prefer titanium because it helps me to achieve fusion, rather than inhibiting it with fibrous tissue as PEEK does. This leads to more rapid fusion and earlier stability so patients feel better earlier on in the recovery process. The surface of the titanium is extremely important because it allows the osteoblasts and titanium to interact, and with the nanotechnology, that surface can actually cause bone cells to produce bone. Q: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for con- tinued growth and development in implant materials and nanotechnology for spine surgery? KH: I think the nanotechnology subtractive surface technology should apply to anywhere in the body that bone and titanium interact. Dental procedures such as implant posts for crowns, orthopedic procedures such as total joint arthroplasty and trauma and spinal fusion procedures would certainly benefit. It will be interesting to see how 3-D titanium printing tech- nology evolves, and how nanosurface technology can be employed to make these printed implants better. 3-D printing can allow the implant to overcome many of the drawbacks seen in titanium, such as using less titanium so imaging is better and manipulating the rigidity of the im- plant to avoid subsidence. 3-D printing cannot print at the nano-level, so employing subtractive surface technology to a 3-D printed implant could be very exciting. n

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