Spinal surgery is a life-changing experience for many individuals. This is especially true for people who have complicated spine disorders.
Spine procedures are performed with great precision and care by neurosurgeons. However, spinal surgery can be time-consuming and exhausting, putting neurosurgeons at risk of tiredness.
Neurosurgeons can use robotic technology to obtain more accurate results with less invasive surgery and faster recovery times. More information on robotic spine surgery can be found here.
Minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) is a treatment that uses the body's natural pathways to execute procedures that reduce risk and tissue stress. It is used to repair traumatic fractures and fix spinal abnormalities.
The purpose of MIS is to stabilize the vertebral bones and relieve nerve pressure that causes back pain. Furthermore, these procedures can help to prevent the need for secondary surgeries, including fusions and ruptured disc replacements.
During MIS, surgeons utilize wires known as catheters to avoid cutting skin and muscle tissue. They can be placed by tubular retraction or by introducing a specific needle into the muscle's soft tissue.
Robotics also make percutaneous placement of screws and rods for stabilization easier, reducing injury to surrounding tissue and improving outcomes. This is particularly crucial when the spinal column is unstable. Because there is less damage to the back and neck, it can also aid in minimizing recovery time.
In spine surgery, robotic guiding is an efficient approach to increase precision and limit radiation exposure during treatments. This is due to the robotics' use of 3D imagery to assist your surgeon in mapping out the procedure and guiding the arm to insert implants throughout the spine.
These devices can also allow more precise screw placement, which is very useful in complex anatomy and small places. This can result in better patient outcomes while also decreasing stress on the surgeon's hands.
Several computer-assisted navigation technologies produce a spinal map using CT-based software and then offer the surgeon a guided path for screw placement. These devices have been found to provide more precision than free-hand screw placement and less radiation exposure than other screw placement methods.
One of the primary advantages of robotic spine surgery is that it is less painful. This is due to the robot's capacity to operate tiny tools in exact movements, which decreases the danger of nerve and other tissue injury in patients.
Another advantage of robotic guiding is that it reduces the amount of radiation that surgeons and patients are exposed to during spine procedures. This is because automated surgical systems use neuronavigation software to precisely position tools while avoiding the use of unneeded radiation on patients.
Fortunately, robotic spine surgery is becoming increasingly popular among both orthopedic physicians and patients. Many benefits of the technology include better precision, reduced blood loss, and fewer problems.
M Health Fairview neurosurgeon Matthew Hunt, MD, FRCS, FAANS, used a novel robotic surgical system to help 76-year-old Judy Kerry obtain relief from her crippling back pain. The technology has a lengthy history of producing positive results while minimizing patient discomfort.
The recovery period for robotic spine surgery is substantially shorter than that of traditional surgery, which entails a considerable incision that affects the surrounding tissues. Most patients can return home within 24 hours following their surgery and enjoy relief almost immediately.
This is due to the fact that robots enable doctors to conduct repeated operations with better accuracy and efficiency than their own hands could. They also limit the need for X-rays throughout the treatment, lowering radiation exposure to both the patient and the surgical team.
Between 2011 and 2016, a multicenter study looked at the results of 406 individuals who had thoracolumbar robot-assisted spine surgery. Intraoperative problems included screw breach (3.4%), robot abandonment due to unreachable anatomy or registration challenges, and return to the operating room for screw removal and replacement.
