Jeffrey Carlson, MD, performed a three-level lumbar fusion on a 37-year-old patient at Newport News-based Coastal Virginia Surgery Center.

Jeffrey Carlson, MD, implanted Boston Scientific's MRI-compatible spinal cord stimulator in a procedure at Coastal Virginia Surgery Center in Newport News.

The CEO of a medical group with providers in Michigan and Ohio was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution for his role in a $150 million fraud scheme.

Alen Nourian, MD, recently left Ventura (Calif.) Orthopedics to launch a solo practice in Southern California.

A joint-venture spine surgery center won approval in Delaware and two other outpatient spine developments in the past month:

Miami Neuroscience Institute physicians now see patients at Coral Gables, Fla.-based Baptist Health South Florida's wellness and medical complex in Plantation, Fla., Baptist announced Feb. 17.

Surgeon-owned ASCs are likely to become more prominent in the coming years due to the growth of the outpatient sector, physicians' desire to control the surgical environment and the potential to boost income.

The number of spinal fusions performed in ASCs is growing as more surgeons, patients and payers become comfortable with the procedure in the outpatient setting.

Franklin, Tenn.-based Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee added spinal fusion to its surgery center, which opened last year.

Downers Grove, Ill.-based DuPage Medical Group has opened an ASC dedicated to spine and orthopedic surgery.

Phoenix Spine & Joint will open its third and biggest surgery center in Gilbert, Ariz., in February, Phoenix Business Journal reports.

COVID-19 has accelerated the trend to outpatient spine surgery, according to Daniel Lieberman, MD, medical director of Phoenix Spine & Joint.

There are more than 160 ASCs in the U.S. performing minimally invasive spine surgery. Here are the 15 states with the most ASCs performing spine surgery: 

There are more than 170 ASCs that perform minimally invasive spine surgery.

Orthopedic spine surgeon Dwight Tyndall, MD, will become a partner at Chesterton, Ind.-based Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute in January, according to a December announcement.

 Patients undergoing Vertos Medical's minimally invasive lumbar spinal stenosis procedure will receive increased reimbursement under new CMS rules, according to a Dec. 8 news release.

Since the beginning of October, Becker's ASC Review has reported on two new and proposed spine surgery centers:

Fargo, N.D.-based Northern Neurosurgery & Spine is set to lease space in a $16 million medical facility with a surgery center in Duluth, Minn., according to the Duluth News Tribune.

CMS will use prior authorization to reduce unnecessary increases in the volume of covered outpatient spine services next year.

In October, Raymond Gardocki, MD, joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where he will help develop the endoscopic spine surgery program.