Dwight Saulle, MD, a neurosurgeon at St. Mary's Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va., is using the SI-BONE iFuse Implant System to treat patients with chronic back pain, The State Journal reports.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The SI-BONE iFuse Implant System stabilizes the sacroiliac joint, known as the SI joint.
2. The iFuse Implant System requires a small incision and uses a special guide pin to place titanium implants.
3. Along with stabilizing the SI joint, the iFuse Implant system reduces blood loss, tissue damage and recovery time.
4. Traditional SI joint fusion surgery involved open surgery that last several hours, requires a larger incision and involves a prolonged hospital stay and recovery.
5. Surgeons using the traditional method remove cartilage tissue from the joint and use bone grafts from another part of the body to help fuse the SI joint.