Spine Surgeons Weigh In on Image-Guided Surgery

Here two spine surgeons discuss whether or not robotics will become necessary in spine operating rooms in the future. Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. We invite all spine surgeon and specialist responses. Next week's question: How can spine surgeons help shape a positive public view of the specialty?

Please send responses to Heather Linder at hlinder@beckershealthcare.com by Wednesday, July 24, at 5 p.m. CST.

Ronnie Mimran, MD, Neurosurgeon, Pacific Brain and Spine Medical Group, Danville, Calif.: I have been using image guidance for spinal surgeries for the last five years. I have found it to be incredibly useful in making my complex spinal operations simpler, more efficient and safer for my patients. In particular, craniocervical and cervicothoracic junction cases, as well as instrumented thoracic and lumbar fusion, are made dramatically better with the addition of image guidance. While it is a common misconception that its use adds time to most surgeries, after a short learning curve, my entire OR team and I have become proficient in its use and it now actually saves me time in the operating room. Additionally, the accuracy of hardware placement is unquestionably improved over my older technique. But above all else, the ability to perform an intraoperative scan with the O-arm once the construct is complete offers me peace of mind that is invaluable.

Raj Rao, MD, Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee: Registration options and intraoperative accuracy still need a lot of improvement before we can say image guided spine surgery is state of the art.

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