Outpatient Spine

Orthopedic procedures have increasingly shifted to the ASC setting in the last 10 years as technology and patient education advance. 

Northbank Surgical Center, a Surgical Care Affiliates' center in Salem, Ore., performed its first spine surgery using the StealthStation S8 navigation system, SCA said April 5. 

Robotic technology is growing among spine surgeons, and fellows are learning to use the technology for more precise outcomes. But if they become too reliant on robotics for spine surgery, the transition to outpatient surgery centers could be problematic.

Just over two years ago, nearly every kind of medical appointment meant a patient had to physically go to the provider's facility.

There are more than 3,500 orthopedic ASCs in the U.S., according to 2021 CMS figures, but many of them do not offer spine surgery.  Here are 10 that do:

As spinal procedures become more minimally invasive, they're increasingly migrated to the outpatient setting.

Todd Lanman, MD, became the first spine surgeon in the U.S. to reverse a patient's lumbar spinal fusion and return them to full motion by implanting an artificial disc, according to a March 25 news release.

From new procedures to cyberattacks, here are five outpatient spine updates for ASC leaders to know:

The Orthopaedic & Spine Center and the Coastal Virginia Surgery Center in Newport News, Va., are collecting medical supplies that will be sent to those in need in Ukraine, CBS affiliate WTKR reported March 24.

Lars Gardner, DO, recently completed North Carolina's first outpatient minimally invasive robotic spine fusion.