Endoscopic techniques are something spine surgeons have predicted would take off over the next decade.
So far in 2023 endoscopic spine surgery is continuing to gain traction.
New York City has been a hot spot for adoption. In January, Daniel Choi, MD, of Patchogue, N.Y.-based Spine Medicine & Surgery of Long Island, completed the first dualPortal endoscopic spinal surgery on Long Island. Shortly after, Ibrahim Hussain, MD, of NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine, performed New York City's first 3D navigation-guided endoscopic lumbar fusion.
Themistocles Protopsaltis, MD, also added the DualPortal endoscopic spinal surgery to his practice at NYU Langone Health in New York City. On the west coast, Albert Wong, MD, of Los Angeles-based DOCS Health completed the second endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in the region.
Research and devicemakers are also keen on endoscopic spine. In April, Amplify Surgical saw positive results in a clinical study for its DualPortal endoscopic technique. Researchers analyzed 3,673 cases using the technique for decompressions, discectomies and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions. The study concluded dualPortal was safe and had favorable outcomes and a low complication profile.
Arthrex also threw its hat into the ring and recently launched its endoscopic portfolio. That was a project 10 years in the making, Michael Gallizzi, MD, told Becker's.
Although the U.S. still lags behind in endoscopic spine adoption, the procedure's growth isn't slowing down anytime soon.
"Endoscopy excites me as an ultra-minimally invasive tool for decompressions and discectomies," Sanjay Khurana, MD, of Marina del Rey, Calif.-based Hoag Orthopedic Institute, told Becker's. "The optics and technology has come a long way since I saw the earliest iteration nearly 20 years ago. I am tiptoeing cautiously into this technique, but my early experience suggests a rapid learning curve and promising patient outcomes."