Robotic-assisted percutaneous iliac screw fixation for destructive lumbosacral metastatic lesions: an early single-institution experience

Pushing the Limits of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery-From Preoperative to Intraoperative to Postoperative Management

The introduction of minimally invasive surgery ushered in a new era of spine surgery by minimizing the undue iatrogenic injury, recovery time, and blood loss, among other complications, of traditional open procedures. Over time, technological advancements have further refined the care of the operative minimally invasive spine patient. Moreover, pre-, and postoperative care have also undergone significant change by way of artificial intelligence risk stratification, advanced imaging for surgical planning and patient selection, postoperative recovery pathways, and digital health solutions. Despite these advancements, challenges persist necessitating ongoing research and collaboration to further optimize patient care in minimally invasive spine surgery.

Spine Surgical Robotics: Current Status and Recent Clinical Applications

With the development of artificial intelligence and the further deepening of medical-engineering integration, spine surgical robot-assisted (RA) technique has made significant progress and its applicability in clinical practice is constantly expanding in recent years. In this review, we have systematically summarized the majority of literature related to spine surgical robots in the past decade, and not only classified robots accordingly, but also summarized the latest research progress in RA technique for screw placement such as cervical, thoracic, and lumbar pedicle screws, cortical bone trajectory screws, cervical lateral mass screws, and S2 sacroiliac screws; guiding targeted puncture and placement of endoscope via the intervertebral foramen; complete resection of spinal tumor tissue; and decompressive laminectomy. In addition, this report also provides a detailed evaluation of RA technique's advantages and disadvantages, and clarifies the accuracy, safety, and practicality of RA technique. We consider that this review can help clinical physicians further understand and familiarize the current clinical application status of spine surgical robots, thereby promoting the continuous improvement and popularization of RA technique, and ultimately benefiting numerous patients.

Global research status and trends in orthopaedic surgical robotics: a bibliometric and visualisation analysis study

This study aimed to investigate and summarise the current state of research and trends in orthopaedic surgical robots. Data on publicly available publications related to orthopaedic surgical robots were extracted by abstract searches of the Web of Science Core Collection database. A bibliometric analysis and detailed reading of the publications were then carried out and the information was visualised using co-authorship analysis, coupling analysis, co-citation analysis and co-occurrence analysis in VOSviewer. With 436 publications included in the study from 1993 to 2022, the overall contribution of publications to the world showed an increasing trend year by year, with a particularly pronounced after 2017, and a geographical trend of predominantly East Asia, North America, and Western Europe. Of these, China was the largest contributor (n = 128). Overall, the UK affiliates and their scholars were leaders in the field, with a high number of publications, total citations, average citations per article and H-index. The most published institutions and authors were Imperial College London (n = 21) and Professor Fares Sahi Haddad of University College London (n = 12), respectively. Journals with a high overall impact on robotic orthopaedic surgery were the Journal of Arthroplasty, Bone Joint Journal, International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery. Keyword co-occurrence network analysis revealed four main clusters: robot-assisted knee, hip arthroplasty, spine surgery, and robotic technology research and development. The top three most common sites for robot-assisted surgery use were the knee, hip and spine. The most used robot types were the knee and spine, with Mako and Arobot being the most used robots for the knee and TiRobot for the spine. This study comprehensively reveals the current status and trends of global research on orthopaedic surgical robots, covering countries, institutions, authors, journals, research hotspots, robot types and surgical sites, providing directional guidance and research ideas for further research on the technological development and clinical evaluation of orthopaedic surgical robots.

Modified Iliac Screw in Lumbopelvic Fixation After Sacral Tumor Resection: A Single-Center Case Series

BACKGROUND

Traditional iliac screw, S2-alar iliac screw, and modified iliac screw are the 3 common techniques for lumbopelvic fixation. The application of the modified iliac technique in sacral spinal tumors has been rarely reported.

OBJECTIVE

To report the feasibility and safety of modified iliac screws after sacral tumor resection and their preliminary clinical outcomes.

METHODS

Twenty-seven patients who underwent sacral tumor resection with modified iliac screw fixation between August 2017 and August 2021 at our center were clinically and radiographically evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 59 iliac screws were inserted by freehand according to the anatomic landmarks. The mean operation time was 207 minutes (range, 140-435 minutes). The average estimated blood loss was 1396 mL (300-4200 mL). Computed tomography scans showed that 2 (3.4%) screws penetrated the iliac cortex, indicating a 96.6% implantation accuracy rate. There were no iatrogenic neurovascular or visceral structure complications observed. The mean minimal distances from the screw head to the skin were 24.9 and 25.8 mm on the left and right sides, respectively. The mean minimal distances from the screw head to the horizontal level of the posterior superior iliac spine were 7.9 and 8.3 mm on the left and right sides, respectively. Two patients (7.4%) underwent reoperation for wound infection. At the latest follow-up, no patient had complications of screw head prominence, pseudarthrosis, or instrument failure.

CONCLUSION

The modified iliac screw is characterized by its minimal invasiveness and simplicity of placement. It is an ideal alternative for lumbopelvic fixation after sacral tumor resection.

Beyond Placement of Pedicle Screws - New Applications for Robotics in Spine Surgery: A Multi-Surgeon, Single-Institution Experience

Interest in robotic-assisted spine surgery has grown as surgeon comfort and technology has evolved to maximize benefits of time saving and precision. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has currently only approved robotics to assist in determining the ideal trajectory for pedicle screw placement after extensive research supporting its efficacy and efficiency. To be considered a durable and effective option, robotics need to expand beyond the indication of just placing pedicle screws. This article aims to illustrate a multi-surgeon, single-institution experience with unique applications of robotic technologies in spine surgery. We will explore accessing Kambin's Triangle in percutaneous transforaminal interbody fusion (percLIF), iliac fixation in metastatic cancer, and sacroiliac (SI) fusions. Each of these topics will be covered in depth with associated background information and subsequent discussion. We show that with proper understanding of its limitations, robots can help surgeons perform difficult surgeries in a safe manner.