Effectiveness of TiRobot-assisted and free-hand percutaneous kyphoplasty via pedicle of vertebra in treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture of thoracic vertebra / 中国修复重建外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the effectiveness of TiRobot-assisted and C-arm X-ray fluoroscopy assisted percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) via pedicle of vertebra in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) of thoracic vertebrae.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 85 patients with OVCF of thoracic vertebrae who were admitted between January 2020 and March 2023 and met the selection criteria was retrospectively analyzed including 40 patients (50 vertebrae) undergoing PKP assisted by TiRobot (group A) and 45 patients (50 vertebrae) undergoing PKP assisted by C-arm X-ray fluoroscopy (group B). There was no significant difference in the comparison of baseline data such as gender, age, body mass index, bone mineral density T-value, fracture segment, trauma history, and preoperative numerical rating scale (NRS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI), and Cobb angle of injured vertebra between the two groups ( P>0.05). The effectiveness evaluation indexes of the two groups, including the operation time, the volume of injected cement, the times of fluoroscopies, the length of hospital stay, and the occurrence of postoperative complications were collected and compared. Anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films and CT of the injured vertebra were reviewed at 1 day after operation to observe whether there was cement leakage and to evaluate the distribution of cement in the injured vertebra. Before and after operation, pain was assessed using the NRS score, dysfunction was assessed using the ODI, and vertebral height recovery was assessed by measuring the Cobb angle of the injured vertebrae by X-ray films.@*RESULTS@#Both groups of patients successfully completed the operation, the operation time, the volume of injected cement, the times of fluoroscopies, and the length of hospital stay in group A were significantly less than those in group B ( P<0.05). The patients in two groups were followed up 4-12 months (mean, 9.6 months). Bone cement leakage occurred in 5 vertebrae in group A and 15 vertebrae in group B after operation, all of which leaked to the intervertebral space and around the vertebral body, and the patients had no obvious clinical symptoms. The difference of bone cement leakage between the two groups was significant ( P<0.05). No severe complication such as intraspinal leakage, infection, or vascular embolism was found in the two groups. At 1 day after operation, the distribution index of bone cement in group A was mostly grade Ⅴ, which was well dispersed; while in group B, it was mostly grade Ⅱ and grade Ⅴ; the difference of bone cement distribution index between the two groups was significant ( P<0.05). The NRS score, ODI, and Cobb angle of injured vertebra in both groups were significantly improved at 1 day after operation when compared with preoperative ones ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the difference of the above indexes between the two groups before and after operation ( P>0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#TiRobot-assisted unilateral PKP in the treatment of OVCF of thoracic vertebrae is safe and effective, which can reduce the X-ray transmission times during operation, shorten the operation time, reduce the volume of bone cement injection, and thus decrease incidence of bone cement leakage.

Early effectiveness of Ti-Robot assisted femoral neck system for minimally invasive treatment of elderly Garden type Ⅱ and Ⅲ femoral neck fractures / 中国修复重建外科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the early effectiveness of the Ti-Robot assisted femoral neck system (FNS) in the treatment of elderly Garden type Ⅱ and Ⅲ femoral neck fractures.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 41 elderly patients with Garden type Ⅱ and Ⅲ femoral neck fractures who were admitted between December 2019 and August 2022 and met the selection criteria. Among them, 21 cases were treated with Ti-Robot assisted FNS internal fixation (study group), and 20 cases were treated solely with FNS internal fixation (control group). There was no significant difference in baseline data, including gender, age, side, cause of injury, time from injury to surgery, fracture Garden classification, and fracture line classification, between the two groups ( P>0.05). Surgical effectiveness was evaluated based on parameters such as operation time (including incision time and total operation time), reduction level, number of dominant pin insertions, intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, incision length, whether to extend the incision, need for assisted reduction, postoperative hospital stay, fracture healing time, incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head, postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score at 1 day, and Harris hip score at last follow-up.@*RESULTS@#The study group showed significantly shorter incision time, fewer dominant pin insertions, fewer instances of extended incisions, fewer intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, and smaller incisions than the control group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in total operation time, reduction level, and assisted reduction frequency between the two groups ( P>0.05). Both groups achieved primary wound healing postoperatively, with no complications such as incision leakage or skin infection. All patients were followed up 12-24 months with an average of 14.6 months. Fractures healed in both groups, with no significant difference in healing time ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in postoperative hospital stay between the two groups ( P>0.05). The study group showed significantly better VAS score at 1 day after operation and Harris hip score at last follow-up when compared to the control group ( P<0.05). No complication such as internal fixation failure, fracture displacement, or hip joint varus occurred in both groups during the follow-up. Osteonecrosis of the femoral head occurred in 1 patient of the control group, while no was observed in the study group, and the difference in the incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head between the two groups was not significant ( P=0.488).@*CONCLUSION@#Compared to sole FNS internal fixation treatment, Ti-Robot assisted FNS internal fixation for elderly Garden typeⅡ and Ⅲ femoral neck fractures can reduce incision time, achieve minimally invasive and accurate nail implantation, and decrease intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, leading to improved postoperative hip joint function recovery.

Application progress in TiRobot-assisted fracture surgery / 中华创伤骨科杂志

With technological innovations in computer, navigation and robotics, more and more robot-assisted orthopaedic surgeries have been put into clinical practice, such as joint replacement surgery, spine surgery, bone tumor surgery, arthroscopy and fracture fixation surgery, providing a new direction for minimally invasive, precise and personalized treatment of diseases in clinic. TiRobot, an orthopedic robotic system independently developed by China, has been widely used in spine and trauma orthopedic surgery. This article reviews the applications of TiRobot in fracture surgery and in remote surgery, and introduces the progress in application of TiRobot to assist treatments of spinal and cervical fractures, thoracolumbar fractures, pelvic and acetabular fractures, hip fractures, and hand and foot fractures.

Clinical application of local anesthesia for TiRobot-assisted removal of sacroiliac screws / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective:To explore the feasibility and advantages and disadvantages of local anesthesia for TiRobot-assisted removal of sacroiliac screws by comparison with general anesthesia for TiRobot-assisted removal of sacroiliac screws.Methods:A retrospective study was performed in 39 patients with posterior pelvic ring fracture-dislocation who had undergone removal of percutaneous sacroiliac screws after fracture union from January 2017 to December 2020 at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital Affiliated to Chengdu University. Their sacroiliac screws were removed with TiRobot assistance under local anesthesia (LA group) or general anesthesia (GA group). In the LA group of 18 cases, there were 10 males and 8 females, aged (43.3 ± 8.4) years (from 25 to 58 years); in the GA group of 21 cases, there were 12 males and 9 females, aged (44.9 ± 9.0) years (from 23 to 60 years). The 2 groups were compared in terms of time for planning screw removal path, fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy time, operation time, anesthesia time, anesthesia cost, postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) and postoperative ambulation time.Results:There was no statistically significant difference in baseline data between the 2 groups, showing comparability ( P>0.05). Follow-ups revealed grade A wound healing in all patients. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in time for planning screw removal path, fluoroscopy frequency, fluoroscopy time or operation time ( P>0.05). The anesthesia time [(41.6 ± 8.3) min], anesthesia cost [(653.5 ± 102.6) yuan] and postoperative ambulation time [(2.6 ± 0.6) h] in the LA group were significantly less than those in the GA group [(52.3 ± 9.5) min, (2,475.6 ± 261.8) yuan and (8.7 ± 2.4) h] while the VAS score in the former group (3.8 ± 1.5) was significantly higher than that in the latter group (2.5 ± 1.3) (all P<0.05). Conclusions:It is feasible to use local anesthesia for TiRobot-assisted removal of sacroiliac screws. In TiRobot-assisted removal of sacroiliac screws, compared with general anesthesia, local anesthesia may lead to shorter anesthesia time, lower anesthesia cast and shorter ambulation time, but the patients need to be compliant enough.

TiRobot combined with three-dimensional imaging to assist minimally invasive treatment of pelvic fractures / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of TiRobot combined with three-dimensional imaging in the minimally invasive surgery for pelvic fractures.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted of the 40 patients with pelvic fracture who had been treated by fixation with S1 and S2 sacroiliac screws at Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Yangjiang People's Hospital from January 2019 to May 2021. They were divided into 2 groups according to their treatment methods. In the TiRobot group of 20 cases subjected to percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation assisted by TiRobot combined with three-dimensional imaging, there were 13 males and 7 females with an age of (38.2 ± 8.8) years. In the manual group of 20 cases subjected to fixation with manual placement of sacroiliac screws under conventional C-arm fluoroscopy, there were 11 males and 9 females with an age of (37.3 ± 9.2) years. The 2 groups were compared in terms of fluoroscopy time for screw placement, guide needle adjustment, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, visual analogue scale (VAS) 72 hours after operation, postoperative hospital stay, time to ambulation, excellent to good rate of screw placement, complication rate, fracture union time, Majeed score at 6 months after operation, and excellent to good rate of functional evaluation.Results:There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in their preoperative general data, showing they were comparable ( P > 0.05). In the TiRobot group, fluoroscopy time for screw placement [(8.2 ± 2.9) s], guide needle adjustment [(0.4 ± 0.2) times], operation time [(67.4 ± 5.5) min], and intraoperative blood loss [(36.5 ± 8.0) mL] were significantly less than those in the manual group [(40.4 ± 4.5) s, (8.6 ± 0.7) times, (78.4 ± 7.2) min, and (41.6 ± 7.8) mL], postoperative VAS [3.0 (4.0, 5.0) points] was significantly lower than that in the manual group [4.0 (5.0, 6.0) points], the excellent to good rate of screw placement (100%, 40/40) was significantly higher than that in the manual group (85.0%, 34/40), and the complication rate (5.0%,1/20) was significantly lower than that in the manual group (35.0%, 7/20) (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in postoperative hospital stay, time to ambulation, fracture union time, Majeed score, or excellent to good rate of functional evaluation ( P > 0.05). Conclusion:In the minimally invasive surgery for pelvic fractures, TiRobot combined with three-dimensional imaging leads to positive outcomes, because it can reduce operation time and radiation exposure, improve accuracy of screw placement, and increase safety.

Advantages and security of sacroiliac lag screwing assisted by an orthopaedic TiRobot / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective To explore the advantages and security of orthopaedic TiRobot used to assist internal fixation with sacroiliac lag screws.Methods From December 2015 to August 2017,11 patients with fracture of pelvic posterior ring or sacroiliac separation were treated by internal fixation with sacroiliac lag screws assisted by an orthopaedic TiRobot at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,Affiliated Hospital to Chengdu University.They were 7 men and 4 women,aged from 23 to 61 years (average,42.5 years).According to AO classification,there were one case of type B1.2,one case of type B2.2,6 cases of type C1.2,2 cases of type C1.3 and one case of type C2.3.The number of sacroiliac lag screws inserted,time for planning insertion approaches,fluoroscopy frequency,fluoroscopy time,exposure time of C-arm X-ray,operation time,blood loss and reduction quality were documented.Results The 11 patients were followed up for 5 to 22 months (average,9.5 months).A total of 15 sacroiliac screws were inserted.In the operations,time for planning insertion approaches averaged 8.5 minutes (from 9 to 25 minutes),fluoroscopy frequency 8.5 times (from 4 to 15 times),fluoroscopy time 5.5 minutes (from 3.2 to 6.5 minutes),exposure time of C-arm X-ray machine 5.8 seconds (from 2.4 to 16.3 seconds),operation time 34.5 minutes (from 25 to 45 minutes),and blood loss 35 mL (from 10 to 80 mL).All the screw positions were satisfactory,with no penetration into the sacral canal,sacral foramen or bone cortex.No postoperative neurovascular injury happened.All the incisions primarily healed.All the fractures united well after 4 to 7 months (average,5.6 months),without any screw loosening.By the Matta scoring for fracture reduction,9 cases were excellent,one was good and one fair.By the Majeed functional scoring for pelvic fractures,8 cases were rated as excellent and 3 as good at the last follow-up.Conclusion Orthopaedic TiRobots can be used to assist internal fixation with sacroiliac lag screws in the treatment of pelvic posterior ring injuries,with advantages of limited invasion,time,hemorrhage,and high safety and accuracy as well.