Neurosurgeons at Marcus Neuroscience Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., completed the center's first spine surgery using the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol.
Brian Snelling, MD, and Timothy Miller, MD, the institute's director of functional neurosurgery, fused 10 vertebrae during a six-hour complex spine procedure.
The enhanced recovery after surgery protocol takes a multidisciplinary approach to achieve optimal outcomes through extensive planning, testing, pain management and follow-up.
"It's a comprehensive start-to-finish checklist that is followed from the time the surgery is booked," Dr. Miller said in a June 16 news release.
Preoperative imaging revealed that the patient had debilitating issues with the curvature of his spine, misalignment with his hips and posture and severe degenerative disc disease, so advanced planning for this spine surgery was critical, according to Dr. Miller.
"At the time of surgery, there [are] additional things we do, such as giving pain medication preoperatively or using medication to help control bleeding," he said. "Postoperatively, we have an advanced, evidence-based pain management regimen that is not heavy on narcotics, so patients are more alert, get out of bed sooner and can be ready for discharge earlier."
Marcus Neuroscience Institute is expanding its spine program, which recently added Medtronic's Mazor X robot. Dr. Miller performed the institute's first robotic spine surgery with Frank Vrionis, MD, in March.