Tips
Computer-Assisted Spinal Navigation Using a Percutaneous Dynamic Reference Frame for Posterior Fusions of the Lumbar Spine
Am J Orthop. 2009 August;38(8):387-391
Author and Disclosure Information
Natalie M. Best, MD, Rick C. Sasso, MD, and Ben J. Garrido, MD
Dr. Best is Resident Physician, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Sasso is Associate Professor and Chief of Spine Surgery, Department of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery, and Dr. Garrido is Spine Surgery Fellow, the Indiana Spine Group and Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
We report a 6-year retrospective review of screw placement utilizing a percutaneous dynamic reference frame attached to the posterior superior iliac spine performed by a single orthopedic surgeon. We included all lumbar spine procedures utilizing computer-assisted spinal navigation (StealthStation® Navigation System, Medtronic Navigation, Louisville, Colo) performed from 2000 to 2005, with 272 of 289 patients (94.1%) having at least a 4-month follow-up with radiographs. Six hundred seventy-two screws were placed. Following surgery, none of these patients had screw misplacements. One patient (0.4%) had a screw backing out of the pedicle. Eighteen patients (6.6%) had their posterior instrumentation removed. Three had repeat operations but did not have their instrumentation removed. No patient with repeat operations had a screw misplaced.