Raymond Gardocki, MD, a surgeon at Memphis, Tenn.-based Campbell Clinic Orthopedics, discusses spine technology trends for the future.
Question: What emerging technology or technique do you think will have the biggest impact on the spine field five years from now? And where do you see the biggest room for innovation in spine?
Dr. Raymond Gardocki: Endoscopic spine surgery is going to have the largest impact on the spine field five years from now. It's in this field that we also see the greatest room for innovation, as it is still a relatively new procedure.
Endoscopic spine surgery has many benefits, including smaller incisions, that the surgery can be performed in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia, lower infection rates and reduced need for opioids or other pain medication. Patients typically walk on the day of their surgery (as soon as they are awake and their anesthesia has worn off), report less pain when walking and typically spend no more than a few hours in the outpatient center before returning home. On Feb. 6, Campbell Clinic performed its 100th endoscopic spine surgery.
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