New robot-guided spine reconstruction means less pain, better outcomes
A new robot-assisted system adds another treatment option available to patients and makes spine surgeries more precise. During the surgery, the robot delivers the perfect pathway to place each screw, giving the surgeon control to sub-millimeter accuracy.
The planning begins long before the operating room. Using special software, the surgeon plans the perfect corrective procedure on a 3D image of the patient’s spine.
The adjustments may be as tiny as moving a screw 0.1 degrees in any plane or making certain screws wider or longer. “Such precise screw placement translates to a much more precise spine correction,” explains neurosurgeon Jamie Wilson, MD.
In addition, with the robot’s help, surgeons can perform complex reconstruction surgeries by placing screws through tiny skin
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incisions instead of the traditional large spine incision. With incisions less than one inch thick, patients lose about 30 times less blood than traditional surgery,” says Dr. Wilson. These smaller incisions also save valuable muscle, skin and nerve supply, speeding the patient’s recovery and causing less pain after the procedure.
Dr. Wilson also uses made-to-order custom implants for each patient. “The custom-built titanium rods fit my patient and only my patient,” he says. Nebraska Medicine is the only hospital in Nebraska that uses both of these latest spine surgery innovations: customized implants and robot-assisted navigation.
At the end of a complex surgery, knowing the results will last is a good feeling. “When I leave the operating room, I have confidence the spine will be the right orientation to reduce the chance of requiring further surgery,” says Dr. Wilson. “We’ve had fantastic levels of success with these new kinds of surgeries, and I am excited my team can provide these innovations for our complex spine patients.”
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