Healio Orthopedics

AMA establishes category 1 CPT code for knee OA procedure

Casey Tingle — Wed, 20 May 2026 17:13:14 Z

In a press release, the Arthroscopy Association of North America announced the AMA established a category 1 CPT code for the Misha Knee System for knee osteoarthritis, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
“A code had already been available for 3 years for hospitals to get paid [for this procedure], and I did not feel it was fair that hospitals were getting paid for a procedure but physicians were not,” Patrick Wakefield Joyner, MD, Advocacy Committee Chair of AANA, told Healio. “My first goal was to advocate for physicians but, quite frankly, for patients, too. I did not want patients

Estate planning is not just for older orthopedists

Sanjeev Bhatia, MD; David B. Mandell, JD, MBA — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:54:06 Z

Since we have not addressed estate planning in this column for years, we wanted to dedicate another installment on it.
This is especially true since I, David Mandell, recently spoke with a young orthopedist who expressed that estate planning wasn’t a priority for him.
This article will layout the basics of what “estate planning” really means and why it is important for all orthopedists to consider.
More specifically, the term “estate planning” really refers to three different planning areas:
In this article, we will discuss the first two areas of estate planning.
Planning for one’s own

MIS may be ideal for insertional Achilles tendinopathy

John W. Womack, MD, FAAOS, FOAFAS; Tyler A. Gonzalez, MD, MBA, FAAOS — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:26:07 Z

The published literature has shown a wide range in rates of Achilles tendon pathology, from approximately 6% in the general population to up to 85% among athletes.
Among these rates, it has been reported that approximately one-third of cases are related to insertional Achilles tendinopathy. Although patients with insertional Achilles tendinopathy are generally treated nonoperatively, there are times where operative treatment is necessary.
While open techniques have historically been used to treat insertional Achilles tendinopathy, minimally invasive surgery techniques have been developed to

Treatment of concomitant olecranon, proximal humerus fractures

Mon, 18 May 2026 20:33:39 Z

An 81-year-old woman with remote left distal humerus open reduction and internal fixation presented to the clinic after a mechanical ground-level fall 1-week prior.
She was initially evaluated at an outside urgent care facility and diagnosed with a left proximal humerus fracture and right olecranon fracture. She attempted an initial course of nonoperative management but was unable to perform her typical activities of daily living, such as personal hygiene or feeding.
On physical examination, the left upper extremity demonstrated significant swelling and ecchymosis about the shoulder. Active

Treatment of concomitant olecranon, proximal humerus fractures

Mon, 18 May 2026 20:33:39 Z

Repair of complex meniscus tears yielded low failure rates

Casey Tingle — Sat, 16 May 2026 13:00:00 Z

PHOENIX — Results presented at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting showed complex meniscus tears may be safely treated through a repair technique, with low failure and complication rates.
“We should continue to evaluate repair of these complex meniscus tears that previously were being managed more with meniscectomy for pain control,” Kyle S. Huntley, MD, a PGY-4 at The Ohio State University, told Healio. “This is an evolving field, and more study is needed on repairing these complex tears for our athletes and for our patients.”
Huntley and

Cryopreserved, fresh grafts similar in patellofemoral lesions

Casey Tingle — Fri, 15 May 2026 15:32:19 Z

PHOENIX — Results presented here showed cryopreserved osteochondral allografts had similar outcomes compared with fresh osteochondral allografts in patients with isolated patellofemoral lesions.
“These cryopreserved osteochondral allografts allow the surgeon to have an off-the-shelf option for when they are dealing with these high-level cartilage lesions of the patellofemoral joint, which allows for simpler treatment of patients because they do not have to wait as long to obtain a fresh osteochondral allograft,” Kostas J. Economopoulos, MD, from Mayo Clinic, Arizona, told Healio about results

Pyrocarbon hemiarthroplasty in young, active patients

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:00 Z

Regardless of etiology, managing end-stage glenohumeral arthritis in patients who are young and very active remains a challenge.
The incidence of glenohumeral arthritis is lower in younger patients compared with senior patients, but function, pain and quality of life in highly productive years of life are significantly impacted.
Source: Matthew T. Glazier, DO; Michael H. Amini, MD; Andrew Razzano, MD; and Robert U. Hartzler, MD
In considering prosthetic shoulder arthroplasty for these patients, symptom relief, implant longevity and revision considerations should be weighed. Total shoulder

Pyrocarbon hemiarthroplasty in young, active patients

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:00 Z

Patient engagement platforms may provide cost benefit

Jeffrey D. Yergler, MD; Christopher T. Cosgrove, MD; Robert L. Barrack, MD — Thu, 14 May 2026 12:00:00 Z

Click here to read the Cover Story, “Patient engagement platforms: ‘The way of the future.’”
The field of arthroplasty is changing. Physicians and implant companies are placing more emphasis on technology to improve accuracy and efficiency and to engage patients.
It is unclear which of these platforms will prove most successful. There is certainly a need to justify added cost with decreasing reimbursement for both facilities and physicians.
The ability to collect data is greater than ever. Data collection can start before surgery. In addition to simple patient-reported outcome measures, AI can

Patient engagement platforms may provide cost benefit

Jeffrey D. Yergler, MD; Christopher T. Cosgrove, MD; Robert L. Barrack, MD — Thu, 14 May 2026 12:00:00 Z

Osteoarthritis not just a ‘wear and tear’ disease

Rob Volansky — Thu, 14 May 2026 09:30:00 Z

DESTIN, Fla. — Osteoarthritis, far from being “simply wear and tear,” demands a multifaceted management strategy, according to a speaker at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology East.
“Rheumatologists tend to be discouraged when thinking about osteoarthritis,” said Amanda E. Nelson, MD, MSCR, RhMSUS, director of the Core Center for Clinical Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
OA is the most common form of arthritis, affecting nearly 600 million people worldwide, according to Nelson. However, misconceptions surrounding the disease persist.
“OA

Changing course: Recognize signals, understand science

Anthony A. Romeo, MD — Wed, 13 May 2026 13:58:40 Z

The challenges of health care have led many physicians to consider changing their professional environment. The first impulse is to modify the current situation, but systemic and institutional inertia may prevent any meaningful change.
Questions arise and these concerns may be briefly silenced by strong clinical outcomes, patient gratitude or the rewards of mentoring fellows and residents who value your guidance. However, for an increasing number of physicians at every stage of a career, the introspective voices may be growing louder, leading one to question if status quo is still acceptable

Changing course: Recognize signals, understand science

Anthony A. Romeo, MD — Wed, 13 May 2026 13:58:40 Z

Makary out as FDA commissioner

Emma Bascom — Tue, 12 May 2026 19:51:44 Z

Martin Makary, MD, MPH, is resigning as FDA commissioner.
Politico was first to report the news on Tuesday, citing an administration official who was granted anonymity. The official told Politico that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a decision months ago to “move on from Makary,” but the president also had to sign off.
Kyle Diamantas, JD, will now lead the FDA as an acting commissioner, according to Politico. Diamantas is currently the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods.
The FDA has not yet responded to Healio’s request to confirm the reports.
Arthur L.

Patient engagement platforms: ‘The way of the future’

Casey Tingle — Tue, 12 May 2026 14:20:04 Z

According to the Center for Health Care Strategies, nine out of 10 adults struggle with health literacy in the United States.
Published literature has shown the level of a patient’s personal health literacy — defined by the CDC as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others” — may impact patient-reported outcomes, with limited health literacy associated with poor results.
In an editorial published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery in 2024, Zachary C. Lum,

Patient engagement platforms: ‘The way of the future’

Casey Tingle — Tue, 12 May 2026 14:20:04 Z

ACL injury prevention programs may reduce health care costs

Collin Peterson, PhD, MAT, ATC; Casey Tingle — Mon, 11 May 2026 17:36:43 Z

A study published in Journal of Athletic Training showed the implementation of an ACL injury prevention program in a national high school soccer population may yield significant medical cost savings in short-term ACL treatment costs.
In a simulated study, Collin Peterson, PhD, MAT, ATC, and colleagues analyzed the return on investment of the cost of ACL treatment prevented with the use of an injury prevention program compared with the cost of the implementation of the prevention program based on data from the 2018 to 2019 U.S. high school soccer season.
In an all-payer model of both surgical

FDA fast tracks GLP-1 analog for knee osteoarthritis

Rob Volansky — Mon, 11 May 2026 09:30:00 Z

The FDA has granted fast track designation to 4P004, an intra-articular GLP-1 agonist analog, for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, according to a press release from biotechnology company 4Moving Biotech.
The agent, which the company is billing as a potential first-in-class disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug, is engineered for intra-articular administration in patients with synovitis who had previously failed on at least two other OA medications.
“The FDA fast track designation granted to 4P004 is an important milestone for 4Moving Biotech and for the osteoarthritis field,” Francis

Researchers debunk ‘5-second rule’ in operating room

Anthony Stitt — Fri, 08 May 2026 19:12:15 Z

In the operating room, the “5-second rule” apparently does not apply.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center deliberately dropped polyethylene knee and hip liners on the operating room (OR) floor and quickly scooped them up to see how quickly contamination occurred. They found clinically important pathogens contaminated 34% of liners within moments of hitting the floor.
“The most surprising finding was how quickly contamination occurred,” researcher Bobby Glenn Warren, MPS, infectious disease scientist and molecular epidemiologist at Duke University School of Medicine, told Healio.