Robot-assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a retrospective matched-cohort study

Safety and clinical efficacy of modified tracer fixation technique in orthopedic robot-assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty for Kümmell's disease

The rising incidence of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) has increased the demand for precise treatments like robot-assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), especially for conditions like Kümmell's disease that require high surgical accuracy. However, the traditional tracer fixation method has certain limitations. This study aimed to compare the safety and clinical efficacy of a modified tracer fixation technique with the traditional fixation method in robot-assisted percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for Kümmell's disease. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 88 patients treated between April 2023 and January 2024. The patients were divided into two groups based on the tracer fixation method: the modified group (skin-fixed, 47 cases) and the traditional group (spinous process-fixed, 41 cases). Outcomes were measured by VAS, ODI, Cobb angle, working channel establishment time, surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative fluoroscopy dose, and complication rates. Both groups showed significant improvements in VAS, ODI, and Cobb angle at postoperative days 2 and 6 months (P < 0.05). The modified group had significantly lower VAS and ODI scores on postoperative days 2, shorter working channel establishment and surgical duration, and less intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in intraoperative fluoroscopy dose or complication rates (P > 0.05). In conclusion, while both techniques are safe and effective, the modified skin-fixed tracer technique offers advantages in reducing surgical trauma, significantly shortening the surgical duration, decreasing intraoperative blood loss, and promoting early recovery.

Effect of Robot-Assisted Surgery on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures after Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation: a Meta-Analysis and a Validation Cohort

Background

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of robot-assisted surgery (RA) on the risk of new vertebral compression fracture (NVCF) and bone cement leakage in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) after percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA), including percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) and percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP).

Methods

A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and adverse effects of RA-PVA versus fluoroscopy-assisted (FA)-PVA in patients with OVCF. A validation cohort of 385 patients who underwent PVP or PKP was retrospectively analyzed. In addition, we attempted to create well-calibrated nomograms to estimate the risk of NVCF and bone cement leakage.

Results

The meta-analysis revealed that the incidence of NVCF and bone cement leakage was significantly lower in RA-PVA than in FA-PVA. The validation cohort confirmed that RA-PVA provided better results than FA-PVA in terms of NVCF and bone cement leakage.

Conclusions

The meta-analysis and the validation cohort suggest that RA reduced the risk of NVCF and bone cement leakage in patients with OVCF after PVA. The nomograms are accurate and easy-to-implement methods for clinicians to estimate the risk of NVCF and bone cement leakage after PVA.

Advantages of robot-assisted PKP under local anesthesia in the treatment of OVCF: a retrospective, non-randomized, controlled, clinical study

Background

Robot-assisted technology has been widely used in orthopedic surgery, which can provide surgeons with higher accuracy and reduce radiation exposure. In spinal surgery, robots are often used to assist pedicle screw implantation, while there are relatively few studies on robot-assisted percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) under local anesthesia.

Methods

A total of 96 patients with single-segment OVCF who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. Fifty-six patients underwent robot-assisted PKP and forty patients underwent conventional PKP by the same group of surgeons. Collect the relevant parameters.

Results

The puncture time and fluoroscopy times during puncture in the robot group were significantly less than those in the manual group (P < 0.001). The success rate of first puncture in the robot group was 92.5%.

Conclusions

PKP under local anesthesia assisted by the new spinal surgical robot effectively reduces the patient's intraoperative discomfort and has a low learning curve.

Efficacy and safety of robot-assisted versus fluoroscopy-assisted PKP or PVP for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA), which includes percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) and percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). Robot-assisted (RA) and fluoroscopy-assisted (FA) are important methods for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs), though it is still unclear which is superior. This analysis aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of RA and FA. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were systematically searched, the outcomes included surgical parameters (leakage rate, operation time, number of fluoroscopic, injection volume, inclination angle), and clinical indexes (hospital stays, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Cobb angle, the midline height of vertebral). Thirteen articles involving 1094 patients were included. RA group produced better results than the FA group in the leakage rate (OR = 0.27; 95% CI 0.17-0.42; P < 0.00001), number of fluoroscopic (WMD = - 13.88; 95% CI - 18.47 to - 9.30; P < 0.00001), inclination angle (WMD = 5.02; 95% CI 4.42-5.61; P < 0.00001), hospital stays (WMD = - 0.32; 95% CI - 0.58 to - 0.05; P = 0.02), VAS within 3 days (WMD = - 0.19; 95% CI - 0.26 to - 0.12; P < 0.00001), Cobb angle within 3 days (WMD = - 1.35; 95% CI - 2.56 to - 0.14; P = 0.003) and Cobb angle after 1 month (WMD = - 1.02; 95% CI - 1.84 to - 0.20; P = 0.01). But no significant differences in operation time, injection volume, ODI, the midline height of vertebral, and VAS score after 1 month. Our analysis found that the RA group had lower cement leakage rates, number of fluoroscopic and hospital stays, a larger inclination angle, better short-term pain improvement, and Cobb angle improvement. It is worth acknowledging that robotic-assisted surgery holds promise for the development of spine surgery. The study was registered in the PROSPERO (CRD42023393497).