Sandeep Kunwar, MD, FACS, performed the first spine surgery in the United States using the Luna 360 Interbody Fusion System from Benvenue Medical.
"The Luna 360 is an important advancement in spinal fusion," said Dr. Kunwar. "Its ability to expand in three dimensions allows me to place a large, supporting spacer into the spine while utilizing a very small incision. This minimizes nerve retraction and allows patients to recover more quickly."
Here are five things to know about the procedure:
1. Dr. Kunwar performed the surgery at Washington Hospital in Fremont, Calif. Dr. Kunwar is a neurosurgeon at Washington Township Medical Foundation and an associate clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.
2. The Luna 360 can be expanded after being placed into the disc space to mitigate the need to impact a larger spacer into the collapsed space.
3. The implant expands once inside the disc in three dimensions to create a large footprint for stable fixation.
4. The surgeon inserts bone graft material after the implant expands.
5. The procedure is minimally invasive and designed to eliminate motion in the fused segment of the spine for patients undergoing surgery for degenerative disc disease.