Spine surgeon Raymond Gardocki, MD, on June 22 performed the first fully endoscopic interbody fusion with Integrity Implants' Flarehawk 7 expandable cage.
Dr. Gardocki, of Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tenn., operated on the patient to correct leg pain, numbness and weakness due to degenerative spondylolisthesis and L5 radiculopathy.
Performed as an awake spine surgery, an epidural injection was provided as well as supplemental monitored anesthesia care. "It's a conscious sedation," Dr. Gardocki said. "The patient breathes on their own, they're not intubated. Basically, as we're putting in the last stitches, the patient is waking up."
The Flarehawk 7 expandable cage is designed for anatomic restoration of disc height and lordosis without the need for excessive neural retraction.
"The implant goes in small, deploys big and allows you to recreate lordosis, which is a big issue with posterior interbody approaches," Dr. Gardocki said.