From a surgeon marking 200 robot-assisted spine surgeries in children to surgeons performing landmark cases in their regions, here are six notable updates in pediatric spine surgery so far this year:
1. Nine surgeons at three pediatric hospitals in the U.S. have performed 25 cases with the nView s1 imaging system, designed for safer and faster surgical procedures.
2. Orthopedic surgeon Matt Hollenbeck, MD, performed Kansas' first successful vertebral body tethering procedure at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
3. Meagen Fernandez, DO, has completed more than 200 robotic-assisted pediatric spine surgeries at Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute.
4. Children's National Hospital has performed the region's first anterior vertebral body tethering surgery for a child in the Washington, D.C., area.
5. MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach (Calif.) is one of two hospitals in the state and one of only a handful in the country to use the ExcelsiusGPS robot for pediatric spine surgery.
6. Justin Bundy, MD, performed the first augmented reality-assisted pediatric spine surgery in the country using Augmedics' Xvision spine system.