Corporate Spine: How Spine Surgery Went Off Track and How We Put It Right - Paperback

by Ardavan Aslie (Author)

Each year, an estimated half-million people will undergo spinal fusion surgery in the US alone. In most cases, surgeons will implant rods and screws into a patient's fused vertebrae as part of the procedure. There's just one (enormous) problem: according to the published medical literature, the screws provide little to no benefit for patients. They do, however, provide billions in profit for a handful of medical device companies.

In this meticulously researched and hard-hitting exposé, veteran California spine surgeon Ardavan Aslie, MD, sounds the alarm on this all-too-common but unproven standard of care. Despite overwhelming evidence that pedicle screws often do more harm than good, device manufacturers continue to push profits over patients. The failure of spine surgery to develop and utilize more effective surgical options has, sadly, led it into a dead end.

It doesn't have to be this way. In Corporate Spine, Dr. Aslie explains how spinal surgery got to this low point, how patients can protect themselves, and how spinal surgery can get back on track to help, not hurt, the estimated 16 million Americans suffering from chronic back pain. Whether this describes you or someone you know, Corporate Spine offers an illuminating report from the frontlines that will both astound and empower.