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When performing back and spine surgery — particularly with spinal screw placements — precision is key to a successful operation with minimal risk to the patient. That’s why the emergence of robotic-assisted surgery is hailed as such a remarkable medical advance within the spinal surgery community. It’s also why Polaris is so pleased to offer robotic-assisted spinal screw placements with ExcelsiusGPS.
Studies have shown that among the top spinal surgeons, the highest rate of placement accuracy by hand is about 93 percent. With robotic surgery overall, that accuracy has been raised to about 98 percent. However, thanks to advanced state-of-the-art navigation technology, ExcelsiusGPS has taken the accuracy of spinal screw placements to a whole new level. In a recent study in which ten surgeons placed a total of 160 pedicle screws with ExcelsiusGPS, the accuracy rate jumped to 100 percent.
Why the Improved Accuracy?
ExcelsiusGPS utilizes an advanced form of navigation technology based on images taken of the patient’s anatomy, not unlike the GPS technology we use in our vehicles. Not only does the navigation feature identify the precise location of screw placement, but the GPS technology adapts to the patient’s natural shifts and movements on the table, recalculating in real time to ensure proper placement. When we combine this navigation technology with the powerful precision of robotics (which far exceed the stability of the human hand), the accuracy of spinal screw placement is unmatched.
Benefits to the Patient
With this level of precision, we can now utilize robotic assistance for spinal screw placement in many places along the back and spine, including the thoracic, cervical and lumbar regions of the back, as well as the sacroiliac joint at the pelvis. An increase of accuracy of a couple of percentage points might not seem like much, but it offers huge advantages to the patient, namely:
- Minimized risk of infection
- Minimal tissue damage, which results in less postoperative pain
- Little or no radiation exposure
- Accelerated recovery times
- Improved success rates for the surgery itself
Polaris Spine & Neurosurgery Center is proud to be the first outpatient spinal center in the Southeast to offer ExcelsiusGPS for spinal screw placement procedures, which has enabled us to raise the bar once again in quality of care for our patients. To learn more, call us at 404-256-2633.