Robot-assisted pedicle screw insertion for scoliosis: First 14 cases in China / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To report our experience on robot-assisted pedicle screw insertion for scoliosis surgery and to verify the insertion accuracy. Methods A total of 14 patients with scoliosis were treated with robot-assisted pedicle screw insertion surgery (6 males and 8 females), including 12 suffering from idiopathic scoliosis and 2 suffering from congenital scoliosis. The time used by the robotic operation, times of X-ray used, and time for the robotic registration were recorded. CT images were used for evaluating the position of screws after the surgery. Results A total of 148 screws were inserted by the robot-guided machine. Averagely it took (1.7±0.9) times to set the platform for registration, (11.2±7.7) times for using X-ray per operation, and (19.3±6.2) min for each registration(time needed for setting the platform plus X-ray). After finishing the registration, it took an average of (2.4±0.9) min to insert a screw. The coronal Cobb angle was corrected from 50.1° (40°-63°) before operation to 12.8° (2°-28°) after operation, with a correction rate of 74.9% on average. CT images showed that the accuracy of robot-assisted pedicle screw insertion was 95.3% (141/148). Conclusion Mazor robot-guided pedicle screw placement is accurate and safe for scoliosis, and it may be a promising trend in spine surgery.