Preliminary Experience of Mazor X Robot-Assisted Spine Surgery - A Single Institution Study

Presented at SMISS Annual Forum 2018
By Terrence Julien MD
With Moawiah Mustafa , Luai Mustafa , Kathleen Quijada , Jason Seale MBBS, Kingsley Chin MBBS,

Disclosures: Terrence Julien MD None Moawiah Mustafa None, Luai Mustafa None, Kathleen Quijada None, Jason Seale MBBS None, Kingsley Chin MBBS None,

Introduction:

The goals of modern spinal surgery are to maximize patient function and accelerate a return to a full life. As spinal surgery has evolved, more focus has been placed on minimizing trauma to the body during surgery and expediting a return to function through the use of minimally invasive techniques. The era of modern spinal surgery has blossomed over the past 10 to 20 years as a result of scientific and technologic advancements including minimally invasive surgery and the use of robot-guided spinal techniques. We report our initial experience using the newest generation Mazor X articulating surgical robot in spine surgical procedures.

Methods:

Patients either obtained a pre-operative CT scan for use for the registration process or the Scan & Plan application for the Mazor X system was used. This system allows for a 3D intra-operative scan to be used for patient imaging in place of a pre-operative CT. The surgeon then plans the ideal procedure with the Mazor X system's 3D planning software in the OR. After successful registration, the surgery proceeded using the Mazor X system for placement of pedicle screws, either open or percutaneously.

Results:

A total of 17 patients were treated for a total of 40 levels treated. There was only one breech for a 97.5% success rate and only a 2.5% breech rate. There were no neurological complications. Only one case had to return to the operating room for revision and that was secondary to the aforementioned screw breech.

Conclusions:

Robotic-assisted spine surgery with the third generation Mazor robot, Mazor X, is a safe modality for the placement of pedicle screws and our experience thus far has been in line with published reports. More research is need and will be conducted to look at greater patient numbers, overall fluoroscopy times, patient LOS, short and long-term complication rates and a more indepth look at the “scan and plan” feature we and Mazor are investigating.