Cutthroat: A Surgeon's Fight against Big Government, Corrupt Businessmen, and a Broken Healthcare System

by Steven J. Cyr, MD, Glenn Plaskin

Overview

In the multibillion-dollar business of American medicine, doctors are often portrayed as culprits—opportunistic millionaires who prey on the misfortune of their hapless patients and drive up the cost of healthcare. But oftentimes they are the real victims of a system designed to increase profits for the insurance companies, shady businessmen, and Big Government.

When Dr. Steven Cyr (a deeply religious man and the former chief of spine surgery for the U.S. Air Force) first opened his own practice, his focus was on providing the very best care for his patients, improving spine surgery results, and running an ethical business. He soon discovered that just because you play by the rules, it doesn't mean everyone else will.

Despite following the law to the letter, Dr. Cyr was descended upon by cutthroat businessmen, jealous colleagues, federal agents, and ambitious lawyers. Their barrage of legal attacks and false claims culminated in him being targeted for federal indictment and nearly losing everything he owned, including his good name and his home. Only through God's grace, the love of his wife, LeAnn, and a steadfast faith in doing what's right was he able to find the strength to overcome the forces aligned against him.

Cutthroat provides an insider's perspective on the many battles that doctors fight for their patients and their practices and exposes the truth about the complex financial, legal, and regulatory pressures faced by doctors who enter the business world. It's a wake-up call for a healthcare industry that has lost its way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637553046
Publisher:	Amplify Publishing
Publication date:	05/24/2022
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Steven J. Cyr, MD, is the chief medical officer for SASpine and CYRxMD Cosmetic Surgery. He is a Mayo Clinic-trained, board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon and has been named a Top Spine and Orthopedic Surgeon by numerous organizations. He has also been rated as the top doctor in San Antonio by RateMDs and recognized nationwide with Patients' Choice and Compassionate Doctor Awards.

Dr. Cyr was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and served fourteen years in the U.S. Air Force, during which time he was the chief of spine surgery for the Air Force and spine surgery consultant to the surgeon general of the Air Force and the Pentagon.

While in the military, he served two tours of duty in Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served as professor of orthopaedic surgery and assistant professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences. A two-year fellowship in cosmetic surgery made him the world's first fellowship-trained orthopaedic and cosmetic surgeon.

He has been married to his wife, LeAnn, for twenty-two years. They have four children: Alexa, Caden, Colton, and Ava.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Targeted 13

Chapter 2 Calm in the Storm 21

Chapter 3 My Calling to Medicine 33

Chapter 4 Unanswered Prayers 43

Chapter 5 A Cinderella Story 61

Chapter 6 Surgical Precision 71

Chapter 7 The Hornet's Nest 83

Chapter 8 Workers' Decompensation 99

Chapter 9 The Love of Money 115

Chapter 10 Free at Last 133

Chapter 11 "Cutter" 149

Chapter 12 To Lease or Not to Lease 163

Chapter 13 Et Tu 179

Chapter 14 As Sure as the Pope Is Catholic 189

Chapter 15 In God We "Trust" 203

Chapter 16 Out of the Frying Pan, into the Oven 217

Chapter 17 Vindication 227

Chapter 18 Beauty from Ashes 241

Chapter 19 Pawns and Cons 247

Acknowledgments 263

Source Material 273

Editorial Reviews

2022-04-20
In a medical memoir and exposé, a successful spinal surgeon describes his career and the legal and professional challenges that almost derailed it.

From the start of this remembrance, orthopedic surgeon Cyr speaks about “the cutthroatbusinessmen who surround our profession” in extreme terms, calling them “predators who are waiting to devour us.” Asserting his intention to “expose conditions in our healthcare system that need an overhaul,” the author begins with his own background. A devout Christian who was born into a military family, Cyr was inclined to view his role as a doctor in terms of service rather than profit. He was inspired to take up orthopedic surgery after he had a successful knee operation following a football injury. He obtained a U.S. Air Force scholarship to pay for his expensive education, though it required him to remain in the service for 14 years and included two grueling Iraq combat deployments. He rose to the role of chief spinal surgeon and professor at the flagship U.S. Air Force hospital in Texas, where he routinely faced criticism and competition from colleagues. The legal issues that would plague his career began with the opening of his private practice, when he had to defend his right to use the name he’d chosen, which was similar to another practice’s. Many other legal issues, the author contends, resulted from counterproductive governmental regulations and insurance practices that favor corporate profits over patient welfare. Cyr is an often captivating storyteller, recounting his experiences with passion and immediacy, from intimate details of his family dynamics to the breakneck pace of his ambitious career. The role of the author’s religious faith in his dedication to medicine is also noteworthy, as when he writes that “God has surrounded me with angels and put a hand of protection over me and my family despite the constant stream of attacks I have experienced.” The tone veers toward querulousness at times, however, as in complaints about “malignant” fellow spine surgeons who disliked him, he says, because of his corporate recruiter wife’s high salary.

A forceful, if somewhat irritable, critique of the American medical system.

Kirkus Reviews