Christina Huston (Of Counsel-Houston, TX) and John Shepperd (Partner-Houston, TX) obtained a defense verdict after five days of trial. The plaintiff alleged her client spine surgeon performed an unnecessary 360° spinal fusion surgery when the patient presented with hip pain that was secondary to a trochanter bursitis rather than a herniated disc. The plaintiff subsequently suffered a failed fusion. The plaintiff relied on the testimony of a hip surgeon as well as an investigation by her health insurance carrier that concluded this was an unnecessary surgery. The plaintiff also claimed that our client made his decision to operate solely on provoked discography, which the plaintiff described as an antiquated “Voodoo” technology. The client countered by testifying that the insurance claim was denied because it was mistakenly characterized as a two-level fusion for herniated discs. Christina and John agreed that a two-level fusion for herniated discs is inappropriate, but that was not the patient’s diagnosis. The patient actually had internal disc disruption at two levels. The disc disruption was demonstrated on a post-discography CT scan that showed extravasation of injected dye outside the disc space. The jury returned an 11-1 verdict for the surgeon in less than an hour.