Orthopedic surgery

Exactly How Crazy Expensive Is Knee Replacement? Good Question

As we work with more and more companies on replacing invasive and expensive orthopedic surgery with interventional orthopedics, the question of the cost of orthopedic surgery comes up. The problem, as I’ll review today, is that the costs are all over the map. To show you what I mean, this morning, we’ll look at the…read more

Regenexx and Pulse Healthcare Announce Partnership to Reduce Orthopedic Surgery Rates

As you may have noticed, this is the third major announcement in the last two months on how Regenexx is partnering with various key players in the insurance industry to reduce the cost of orthopedic care. All of this is focused on, where feasible, replacing elective orthopedic surgery with interventional orthopedics. Let me explain. Why…read more

Watch a Meniscus Treatment Using Precise Interventional Orthopedics

In order to understand what a Regenexx interventional orthopedic treatment involves, there’s nothing quite like joining us in a procedure suite to watch it for yourself. Today, I invite you in to observe a meniscus treatment as Dr. Pitts performs advanced precise image-guided injections into both the meniscus and the patella tendon. The patient is…read more

Connect Healthcare Collaboration Picks Regenexx to Reduce Orthopedic Surgery Costs

Yesterday, there was a huge announcement that sent retail and drug middlemen stocks plummeting. Amazon, which had previously announced a partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan to reduce healthcare costs, bought a mail-order pharmacy provider. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the news these past few months of massive vertical integration…read more

Why You Don’t Need Shoulder Separation Surgery

On this page: What is the AC joint? What happens in an AC joint separation? What does an AC joint separation feel like? Is shoulder separation surgery necessary? New research on surgery for AC joint dislocation When I was in medical school, I crashed a motorcycle and separated my shoulder. I was told back then…read more

Is Hip PAO Surgery a Bad Idea?

I have my list of surgeries that when I first learned of them, my reaction was, “They did what to you!?” Hip PAO surgery has been on that list for years. Why? Its goal is to replace the need for a hip replacement, but it’s far more invasive than the surgery it seeks to prevent. Let me…read more

Fusion Surgery No Better than No Surgery

Does fusion surgery work? I have blogged before about the research showing that this surgery is often no better in the long-run than no surgery. However, I’ve also pointed out that surgeons have a way of interpreting data in studies that benefit their preconceived notions of efficacy. Today’s blog is about one such study which…read more

Lumbar Fusion Is Usually a Business Model, Not Effective Treatment

Surgical fusion hardware is one of the most successful medical business plans ever devised. You take a screw and rods made for a few dollars in China or India and sell them for thousands of dollars. As a result, we’ve gone from a world where implanting hardware in the spines of patients was rare, to…read more