Dr. Kaixuan Liu

Called anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, the surgery that can repair this damage involves cutting out the disc from the front (anterior) part of the neck. The emptied disc space is then filled with a bone graft, bridging the two surrounding vertebrae to create a spinal fusion.

WEST ORANGE, N.J. (PRWEB)
March 06, 2020

Millions of people experience neck and arm pain stemming from problems with vertebral discs running down the neck, also known as the cervical spine. But when conservative treatments don’t ease the pain, surgery known as anterior cervical discectomy and fusion may spell relief, according to Kaixuan Liu, MD, PhD, founder and Medical Director of Atlantic Spine Center.

Among the top causes of neck pain are herniated or ruptured cervical discs, which can happen due to aging, wear-and-tear, or sudden trauma such as an accident, Dr. Liu says. When discs deteriorate significantly, the gel-filled center can escape from the hard outer shell, compressing nearby nerve roots and triggering pain, numbness and weakness.

Called anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, the surgery that can repair this damage involves cutting out the disc from the front (anterior) part of the neck. The emptied disc space is then filled with a bone graft, bridging the two surrounding vertebrae to create a spinal fusion.

“You might be a good candidate for anterior cervical discectomy if diagnostic imaging shows you have a herniated or degenerative disc that causes marked weakness in your arm or hand, and arm pain that’s even worse than your neck pain,” explains Dr. Liu, who is fellowship-trained in minimally invasive spine surgery.

What happens during anterior cervical discectomy and fusion?

Surgery is typically reserved only for those whose neck pain and other symptoms haven’t improved with medication, exercise, injections or physical therapy. “About 90% of patients with these symptoms will get better with conservative treatments within 6 weeks, but this surgery is a solid option for those who don’t,” Dr. Liu says.

What’s involved in this procedure?

• Through a small incision at the front of the neck, the surgeon moves aside neck muscles and the airway, exposing the patient’s disc and vertebrae.
• Using a special X-ray, the surgeon locates the affected vertebra and disc(s).
• One or more discs are removed with surgical tools, depending on the extent of a patient’s condition. A retractor is used to spread apart vertebrae surrounding the damaged disc.
• Any bone spurs pressing on nerve roots surrounding the damaged disc are removed.
• Bone graft material is inserted into the now-empty disc space. Derived from the patient, a cadaver or a man-made product, the bone graft may be fixed in place with metal plates and screws.
• The incision is closed and the patient is placed in a post-operative recovery area.

A major benefit of performing the surgery through the front of the neck is the ability to reach the affected disc(s) without disturbing the spinal cord, nerves or neck muscles, Dr. Liu notes. Also, most patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion are able to go home the same day as the procedure, he says.

What’s recovery like?

Since it’s the most common surgical procedure used to treat damaged discs in the neck, anterior cervical discectomy has become increasingly advanced in recent years, helping reduce post-operative pain and speed patients’ recovery, Dr. Liu says.

While full recovery may take 4 to 6 weeks, patients are made comfortable right after surgery with medication. Some patients experience a sore throat, hoarseness or trouble swallowing, which should also resolve within days to weeks. A few restrictions are put in place at first, such as avoiding sitting for long periods, bending your head forward or backward, or lifting items heavier than 5 pounds, Dr. Liu explains.

A cervical collar or brace is sometimes worn to provide the patient with neck support and limit motion as the bone graft fuses. Additionally, your doctor may prescribe physical therapy and exercises to pave the way for better range of motion in your neck, once healed.

“For the vast majority of patients who undergo anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, the surgery is successful in finally relieving their neck and arm pain,” Dr. Liu says. “Patients can improve the odds of lasting results by practicing proper lifting techniques, keeping good posture, exercising appropriately, and controlling their weight. This procedure offers hope to those living with chronic pain, numbness or other symptoms that take away from their quality of life.”

Atlantic Spine Center is a nationally recognized leader for endoscopic spine surgery with several locations in NJ and NYC. http://www.atlanticspinecenter.com, http://www.atlanticspinecenter.nyc

Kaixuan Liu, MD, is a board-certified physician, fellowship-trained in minimally invasive spine surgery at Atlantic Spine Center.

Share article on social media or email:

Everest Group

BigTechs are helping payers to improve their customer-facing platforms, leverage chatbots to handle customer traffic, and have better access to members’ health data – leading to better customer experience and business growth.

DALLAS (PRWEB)
March 06, 2020

BigTech is stepping into the healthcare arena armed with a technological advantage and an ability to help healthcare payers improve their meager margins, which traditionally hover around 2 to 4%. According to Everest Group, payers are primarily utilizing the solutions and products of BigTechs to improve their member experience and operational processes, with care management being the primary area of focus.

BigTechs are helping payers to improve their customer-facing platforms, leverage chatbots to handle customer traffic, and have better access to members’ health data – leading to better customer experience and business growth. Payers are also using automation solutions (such as automated claims management services) from these firms to enhance their operational efficiencies and reduce cost.

Payers are currently investing $22.8 billion in the IT services (ITS) market, with 21% devoted to digital platforms and technologies. Everest Group predicts $32.2 billion in ITS spending by healthcare payers (a 5.9% increase) by 2025, with a 13.8% increase in spending on digital as compared to a 3.2% increase in traditional IT services.

“BigTechs such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google already have a track record of disrupting major industries such as retail and telecommunications,” said Nitish Mittal, vice president, Technology, at Everest Group. “These technology giants are now invading the healthcare payer industry – with many already making/announcing significant investments for transforming the industry.

“The healthcare industry makes an attractive target for BigTech,” continued Mittal. “Healthcare is one of the biggest industries in the U.S., expected to account for 19.4% of the GDP by 2022, and it is notorious for its rampantly rising costs and poor performance on quality indicators. The BigTech companies bring their data analytics expertise, customer-centric digital solutions, agility and consumer-trusted brands—all of which can be leveraged to improve care management and every other stage of the payer value chain, from product development to policy servicing and from IT infrastructure to claims management and business processes.”

Everest Group explores the potential implications of BigTech’s investments in the healthcare industry in its recently published report, Healthcare Payer State of the Market – Trends, Service Provider Performance in 2019, and Outlook for 2020. The report examines the global 2019 healthcare Information Technology Services (ITS) service provider landscape and covers themes expected to garner greater interest in 2020, including the following:

• 
  Shift to value-based care (rather than fee-for-service): Employers, health plans, and government purchasers of healthcare are pushing for a transition to value- based payment models. The premise of this shift is to align physician, hospital, lab, doctor, and nurse incentives with health outcomes of their patients and the quality of services rendered.
• Broadening role of healthcare payers: The healthcare landscape in the US is witnessing a convergence between payers and providers, with multiple collaborations in the form of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, etc. This convergence is critical to succeed in the value-based care model as collaboration between health plans and providers leads to efficient data sharing, higher accountability and transparency, better outcomes, lower costs, and improved patient experience.
• Data monetization: The healthcare industry’s ever-growing repository of untapped data both from clinical and non-clinical sources may finally be a part of monetization use cases in the near future. The emergence of a data exchange platform is likely to spur revenue generation for companies holding data assets. At the same time, healthcare companies, researchers, and innovators may begin to realize improved innovation with requisite data up for purchase through data exchange platforms.
• Cloud adoption: A sharp increase in affinity for cloud platforms is evident in the payer IT spectrum. Cloud platforms with built-in next generation tools enable payers to efficiently manage data and run analytics on claims and care data. Keeping the converging healthcare landscape in mind, the use of cloud-based platforms for management of disparate data sources allows for seamless collaboration across multiple stakeholders.
• Rising consumerism: Regulatory policies are pushing for increased price transparency (such as the “transparency in coverage” rule that requires payers to disclose cost and price sharing information to participants). These policies and evolving customer expectations have put out a message for the payers to adopt technological solutions in order to improve customer experience at every touchpoint starting from the enrollment of a member. Payers will seek to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbots, voice assistants, and other customer experience enhancement technologies in order to fulfill expectations while keeping costs in check.
• Evolution of payer core administration platform: A modular approach for core administration platforms is taking the front seat due to lack of success of completely integrated end-to-end solutions. Enterprises are leaning toward a modular approach rather than rip-and-replace solutions in order to improve time-to-market and to preserve the ability to tweak as per their own requirements.

***Download a complimentary abstract of the report***

About Everest Group

Everest Group is a consulting and research firm focused on strategic IT, business services, and sourcing. We are trusted advisors to senior executives of leading enterprises, providers, and investors. Our firm helps clients improve operational and financial performance through a hands-on process that supports them in making well-informed decisions that deliver high-impact results and achieve sustained value. Our insight and guidance empowers clients to improve organizational efficiency, effectiveness, agility and responsiveness. What sets Everest Group apart is the integration of deep sourcing knowledge, problem-solving skills and original research. Details and in-depth content are available at http://www.everestgrp.com.

Share article on social media or email:

“This designation recognizes Dr. James Song as a UroLift Center of Excellence for his commitment to providing safe and effective treatment to patients with BPH,” said Dave Amerson

PLEASANTON, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 06, 2020

NeoTract, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) focused on addressing unmet needs in the field of urology, today announced that James Song, MD, Bel Air Urology in Forest Hill, MD has been designated as a UroLift® Center of Excellence. The designation recognizes that Dr. Song has achieved a high level of training and experience with the UroLift® System and demonstrated a commitment to exemplary care for men suffering from symptoms associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate.

Recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines, the FDA-cleared Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH. The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue.

The UroLift Center of Excellence program is designed to highlight urologists who are committed to educating their patients on BPH and the UroLift System as a treatment option and consistently seek to deliver excellent patient outcomes and experiences.

“This designation recognizes Dr. James Song as a UroLift Center of Excellence for his commitment to providing safe and effective treatment to patients with BPH,” said Dave Amerson, president of the Teleflex Interventional Urology business unit. “We are pleased to see the continued acceptance of the UroLift System as a standard of care treatment that may allow men to discontinue the use of BPH medications and improve their quality of life.”

Over 40 million men in the United States are affected by BPH, a condition that occurs when the prostate gland that surrounds the male urethra becomes enlarged with advancing age and begins to obstruct the urinary system. Symptoms of BPH often include interrupted sleep and urinary problems and can cause loss of productivity, depression and decreased quality of life.

Medication is often the first-line therapy for enlarged prostate, but relief can be inadequate and temporary. Side effects of medication treatment can include sexual dysfunction, dizziness and headaches, prompting many patients to quit using the drugs. For these patients, the classic alternative is surgery that cuts, heats or removes prostate tissue to open the blocked urethra. While current surgical options can be very effective in relieving symptoms, they can also leave patients with permanent side effects such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and retrograde ejaculation.

About the UroLift® System

The FDA-cleared UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a minimally invasive transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. Clinical data from a pivotal 206-patient randomized controlled study showed that patients with enlarged prostate receiving UroLift implants reported rapid and durable symptomatic and urinary flow rate improvement without compromising sexual function*1,2. Patients also experienced a significant improvement in quality of life. Over 100,000 men have been treated with the UroLift System in the U.S. Most common adverse events reported include hematuria, dysuria, micturition urgency, pelvic pain, and urge incontinence. Most symptoms were mild to moderate in severity and resolved within two to four weeks after the procedure. The Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines. The UroLift System is available in the

U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Learn more at http://www.UroLift.com.

About NeoTract | Teleflex Interventional Urology

A wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated, the Interventional Urology Business Unit is dedicated to developing innovative, minimally invasive and clinically effective devices that address unmet needs in the field of urology. Our initial focus is on improving the standard of care for patients with BPH using the UroLift System, a minimally invasive permanent implant system that treats symptoms while preserving normal sexual function*1,2. Learn more at http://www.NeoTract.com.

About Teleflex Incorporated

Teleflex is a global provider of medical technologies designed to improve the health and quality of people’s lives. We apply purpose driven innovation – a relentless pursuit of identifying unmet clinical needs – to benefit patients and healthcare providers. Our portfolio is diverse, with solutions in the fields of vascular and interventional access, surgical, anesthesia, cardiac care, urology, emergency medicine and respiratory care. Teleflex employees worldwide are united in the understanding that what we do every day makes a difference. For more information, please visit http://www.teleflex.com.

Teleflex is the home of Arrow®, Deknatel®, Hudson RCI®, LMA®, Pilling®, Rusch®, UroLift® and Weck® – trusted brands united by a common sense of purpose

# # #

For Teleflex Incorporated:

Jake Elguicze, 610.948.2836

Treasurer and Vice President, Investor Relations

Media:

Nicole Osmer, 650.454.0504 nicole@healthandcommerce.com

*No instances of new, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction

1. Roehrborn, J Urology 2013 LIFT Study

2.McVary, J Sex Med 2016

MAC00968-01 Rev A

Share article on social media or email: