Robotic spine surgery: a preliminary report

Abstract

AIM: Robotic spine surgery techniques provide reduced pedicle screw malposition and radiation exposure during surgery. The aim of this study is to review clinical and radiological results of robotic spine surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data for 27 patients were reviewed. To reveal the effect of a learning curve, the cases were divided into two groups: Group A and Group B The clinical data and radiological data were compared with the values obtained from preoperative planning. RESULTS: The patients consisted of 23 females and 4 males. A total of 136 screws were placed in the 27 cases. The accuracy rate of the screw positions was 98.5%. The overall mean procedure duration was 73.2 minutes for Group A and 46.1 minutes for Group B. The overall mean x-ray exposure time per screw was 1.3 seconds, 1.8 seconds for Group A and 0.9 seconds for Group B. Postoperative imaging revealed that 126 screws were perfect, screw malposition of < 2mm was observed for 8 screws, and malposition of > 2mm was observed for 2 screws. CONCLUSION: Robotic spine surgery provides a high degree of accuracy for pedicle screw placement and allows for reduced radiation exposure.