Reporter's Notebook

Dear OTW Reader:

Brian Parsley, M.D. touts joys of returning to private practice…NASS to recognize Kiyoshi Kaneda, M.D., Gunnar Andersson, M.D., and Joel Press, M.D., AAOS and the OTA team up with SOMOS to organize disaster response…read on…

U.S. Sidelining Itself

A frustrated orthopedist tells OTW, “Our government is stepping back and letting other countries take the lead. Politicians and wildly unreasonable regulations are hampering our future…we used to be a country with a ‘we can do anything’ attitude…now we’re on the sidelines watching the action abroad. We should look closely at what the Europeans are doing along the lines of new product development. Insurers are a big part of the problem…truly, who is getting the money with these premiums going up? We are becoming a Scandinavian country…and I can’t remember the last time an innovative product came out of Scandinavia. I mean, to hear the CEO of Coca-Cola saying that the environment in China is more business friendly than that in the U.S. is such a shift. I’ve just never felt like this in my life…it makes me think about all of those books about the downfall of the Roman Empire.”

NASS: Awards for Spine Surgeons 

Kiyoshi Kaneda, M.D., will receive the 2011 Leon Wiltse Award, which honors excellence in leadership and/or clinical research in spine care. Dr. Kaneda is the former Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. A respected leader in the field, Dr. Kaneda is best known for his work in spinal stabilization and instrumentation. He also has received the Wiltse Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. Gunnar Andersson, M.D., Ph.D., will receive the Henry Farfan Basic Science Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in spine related basic science research. Dr. Andersson is Professor Emeritus at Rush University School of Medicine, Chicago. He also was the Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery and Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs at Rush. Dr. Andersson is Past President of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine and the Orthopaedic Research Society. Joel Press, M.D., is the recipient of the David Selby Key Service Award, which honors a NASS member who has contributed greatly to the art and science of spinal disorder management through service to NASS. Dr. Press is Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago. Dr. Press is past President of the North American Spine Society (NASS) and the former Chief of Staff at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

New Senior VP at Orthofix

Michael Finegan, who joined Orthofix as Vice President of Corporate Development in 2006, has moved into the role of Senior Vice President of Business Development and President of Biologics at that company. From 2009 he served as the President of Biologics. Mr. Finegan came to Orthofix from the Boston Scientific Corporation, where he held several positions, with the most recent being Vice President of Corporate Sales. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1985 with a B.A. in Economics.

Rothman Continues Expansion

Joseph A. Abboud, M.D., a shoulder and elbow surgeon who received his medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine, has joined the Rothman Institute. Dr. Abboud completed his orthopedic residency as well as his shoulder and elbow fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Abboud was previously a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Biologics Out of Asia

An avid orthopedic researcher tells OTW, “I think one of the exciting new frontiers in orthopedic research is the application of platelet-rich plasma for tendon and muscle healing in the field of sports medicine. More clinical studies still need to be done, and certainly this can be daunting process in the United States. This has spurred international collaborations that I think will ultimately be as fruitful for orthopedics as it has been for other scientific domains. Our institution has recently sent someone to Asia for research purposes, and it is apparent that the historic boundaries to such collaborations are quickly evaporating.”

DJO Loses Executive VP

Andrew Holman, executive vice president, U.S. commercial operations, is leaving DJO to pursue other opportunities. In connection with this transition and for the immediate future, DJO President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Mogul will assume direct responsibility for DJO’s commercial activities in the United States. Mogul formerly served as Stryker Corporation’s Group President, Orthopaedics.

Returning to Private Practice

Brian Parsley, M.D., who is in the presidential line for the American Academy of Hip and Knee Surgeons, has recently returned to private practice…and is he thrilled! Dr. Parsley tells OTW, “One of the biggest joys has been regaining control of my practice. This way, I can take care of patients the way I feel they should be treated; in other environments patients are rushed through an office for the sake of volume—and the personal touch is lost. Also, I am happy to not have to deal with the economic headaches of an academic practice. The academic model is just more inefficient; and while they have to be more economically driven now, they are not as nimble as a private practice in controlling costs and caring for patients. I’m happy to be back in practice at a physician owned hospital.”

New Leadership for Ascendx Spine

Romano Ferrari is the new chairman of Florida-based Ascendx Spine. Since 2009 Mr. Ferrari has been president of Healthcare Industry Consultants, based in Paris. Earlier in his career, he served as president of Medtronic AVE Europe; vice president/Europe for Baxter Healthcare (Edwards Lifesciences); global vice president of Marketing & Sales for Sorin Group; and, president of Critical Care for Ohmeda.

Learning the Lessons From Haiti

Dr. Christopher Born, Chief of Orthopedic Trauma at Rhode Island Hospital within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of Brown University, is celebrating progress. He tells OTW, “AAOS and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association have teamed up with the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons (SOMOS) to develop a database for orthopedists who want to respond to disasters. In Haiti we found that a lot of doctors didn’t know what they were getting into. Some of the issues that need to be addressed are safety and security and the ethics of people doing things they are not trained to do. The plan calls for developing three types of responders: trauma trained physicians who are available on an immediate basis, non-trauma trained doctors who are also able to leave on short notice, and those who are able to be available for recovery or sustaining situations weeks after an event. If people want to be included in the AAOS database they must undergo an educational training process. The highlight here is that SOMOS has taken its combat extremities course and reformatted it for civilians who are going to be acute responders. This coordinated effort will go a long way toward streamlining disaster management.”

Keeping Golfers in Shape

DePuy Mitek has announced that it is donating $60, 000 to charity as part of an ongoing effort with the PGA TOUR to promote joint health. As part of the first ORTHOVISC PGA TOUR Player Charity Program, thousands of fans voted via computer kiosks at various PGA TOUR tournaments for their favorite players, who will be receiving donations for their charities. The top four players were John Daly, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink and Jonathan Byrd. 

No Postop Narcotics?

A seasoned orthopedist tells OTW, “There is a new movement in hospitals to move away from using narcotics to relieve pain. There are issues with these drugs, namely that the patients are either totally knocked out or not very responsive, they have more pulmonary complications, and they often have urinary complications. Our hospital is one of the many now using IV Toradol, an anti-inflammatory that is great for pain. But there is even an issue with this drug; in lab animals it has been shown to slow down bone healing. So, like many hospitals, ours is also advocating the use of IV Tylenol—which seems to be working well. The problem is that for years nurses have been drilled to offer the appropriate levels of pain control meds, i.e, ‘make the pain stop.’ So you have a lot of nurses who are still in the old mindset of being accustomed to patients who are knocked out. This ‘no narcotics’ movement is a real pendulum swing…but it is quite overdue.”