The pace of technological change is lightning fast. No sooner does the “latest thing” arrive on the market than it’s obsolete and we find ourselves joining a throng of people lining up for the new “latest thing”.
And the medical community is similarly challenged to keep up with the pace of change. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the realm of surgery. With the advent of minimally invasive techniques, we’ve seen a growing demand for this type of procedure. And now that minimally invasive robotic spine surgery has arrived, these techniques are more finely tuned than ever before.
This post is about minimally invasive robotic spine surgery and how the future of surgery has arrived. Let’s read about the future that’s with us even as you read.
Numerous advantages
Accuracy – Because of the 3D imaging technology used in robotic spine surgery, precision and accuracy are now greatly enhanced.
Screw placement has traditionally been a challenge in spinal procedures and it’s this factor which led to research efforts to establish imaging which would eliminate the margins of error for this facet of spine surgery.
Minimally invasive – The future is “smaller”, which means incisions used in this style of surgery are no more than a half inch in length. The shrinking size of instrumentation also allows surgeons to go places they’ve previously been unable to go, especially for those patients with specific anatomical features requiring incredible manual dexterity.
The smaller incision size used is also responsible for a reduction in complications like infection and complications arising from muscle retraction. These improvements have led to reduced recovery times, shorter hospital stays and less dependency on opioid pain relievers due to less post-surgical pain.
Reduced surgical time – While there’s some variance of opinion on this point, it’s clear that the patient spends less time on the operating table, so we’re going to say it’s an advantage.
Surgeons require more set up time to prepare the equipment using in minimally invasive robotic spine surgery, but there’s no question that the patient benefits from reduced time spent under anesthesia, due to the more precise nature of the technology involved.
Patients suffering from severe spinal deformities benefit even more from robot spine surgery, due to its ability to transcend the normal manual dexterity and ability to reach difficult areas required of the surgeon.
But the most promising thing about minimally invasive robotic spine surgery is what we talked about at the very beginning of this post. The rapid pace of technological change is evolving the sector, refining it and making it even more effective, precise and able to deliver exceptional outcomes for all stakeholders.
At Spine Care NYC, we believe that robotics will guide the future of spine surgery to the point where minimally invasive procedures using the technology will become the norm and not the exception.
At Spine Care NYC, we’re committed to the delivery of excellent care for all patients struggling with spinal conditions and dysfunction. Find out more about the robotics revolution. Contact us.