AAOS: February 16th - 19th San Diego Here We Come

This week, the beautiful city of San Diego welcomes the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons to its annual bone fest.  Considering the amount of social events that have been planned, it's a wonder any surgeon will be walking the exhibitor hall at the SD Convention Center.  The AAOS has planned cooking classes, tours of SoCal vineyards, visits to the naval shipyard, bike rides etc., etc., and so on.  TSB has always wondered why some spine companies attend this Orthopalooza, and why some do not? The only explanation is those that attend find an inherent value, while those that do not leave many unanswered questions and skepticism about their future existence.  For instance, TSB noticed that the V Brothers are missing.  We could understand not showcasing Centinel or Paradigm Spine, but no Small Bone Innovation?  Contrary to the recent "feel good" press releases from Centinel, word on the Street is that there may be some executive management movement in the near future.  If there ever was a venue to showcase a company that you are looking to sell, what better meeting than AAOS?  It is the orthopaedic equivalent of NASS.  Some other interesting news that has surfaced is that there is some grumbling coming out of Biomet Spine.  Last week,  it was reported that some distributors had lost their spine lines.  Could Biomet Spine be sailing into some strong headwinds?  There must be something in the air in Warsaw, Indiana.  Zimmer and Biomet Spine seem to be more of a curse than a psychological burden for these companies.  But then, when it comes to spine, both of these companies truly resemble the gang that couldn't shoot straight.  If these rumors bode well, this could be a great opportunity for some of the smaller companies in our industry to pick off additional distribution resulting in new business.  Globus will be showcasing its new VP of Sales in addition to the recent whooping it took from Medtronic.  The only question that exists is how many more lawsuits will they lose?   Unlike sports or music, in spine imitation is not the best form of flattery.  But then Globus has developed an industry reputation for behaving like a recidivist.   In addition to some of the aforementioned scuttlebutt, rumor has been swirling for weeks that Amedica is on the verge of announcing a new VP of Sales, if true, a rolodex full of former consultants will definitely help the cause.  In closing,  as an FYI for those non-Californians, we've had a bit of cool weather, so bring those jackets and sweaters for the evenings festivities.   The evenings have been in the 40's and the days have been in the 60's and 70's.   See you on Tuesday and don't forget Valentine's Day.