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METHODS article

Front. Surg.
Sec. Neurosurgery
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2024.1495251

Robotic Pedicle Screw Placement for Minimal Invasive Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery: a Technical Note

Provisionally accepted
Luthfi Gatam Luthfi Gatam *Phedy Phedy Phedy Phedy *Syafruddin Husin Syafruddin Husin *Harmantya Mahadhipta Harmantya Mahadhipta *Asrafi Rizki Gatam Asrafi Rizki Gatam *Mitchel Mitchel Mitchel Mitchel Karina Sylvana Gani Karina Sylvana Gani Erica Kholinne Erica Kholinne *
  • Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Pedicle screw placement in spine surgery is a complex and delicate procedure that requires precise and accurate placement of pedicle screws. This technical note describes the steps involved in performing robotic assistance pedicle screw insertion in thoracolumbar spine surgery using the ExcelsiusGPS platform.This paper outlines the surgical techniques and intraoperative workflow for pedicle screw placement using the ExcelsiusGPS system. It also covers the surgical process, including patient positioning, dynamic reference placement, intraoperative cone-beam tomography, screw planning, exposure, and insertion techniques for spinal stabilization.A meta-analysis highlighted the significant advantages of robotic spine surgery over traditional freehand techniques, including a notably lower complication rate (4.83% vs. 14.97%) and up to a tenfold reduction in surgeon radiation exposure compared to fluoroscopy. Additionally, robotic systems enhance pedicle screw placement accuracy, achieving a 91.7% success rate. This higher accuracy is attributed to real-time screw planning, trajectory guidance, and precise adjustments in robotic-assisted surgery. These advantages establish robotic assistance as a crucial innovation for enhancing surgical precision and patient safety, although it requires careful handling of technical challenges like alignment changes in highly flexible bones and ensuring accurate instrument trajectory during screw placement.Robotic-assisted spine surgery improves pedicle screw accuracy with real-time planning and trajectory adjustments, reducing complications and radiation exposure. However, higher costs and increased screw use warrant careful evaluation of its cost-effectiveness and impact on healthcare resources.

    Keywords: Thoracolumbar spine, Pedicle screw placement, Robotic spine surgery, ExcelsiusGPS robot, Minimally invasive

    Received: 12 Sep 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gatam, Phedy, Husin, Mahadhipta, Rizki Gatam, Mitchel, Gani and Kholinne. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Luthfi Gatam, Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia
    Phedy Phedy, Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia
    Syafruddin Husin, Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia
    Harmantya Mahadhipta, Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia
    Asrafi Rizki Gatam, Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia
    Erica Kholinne, Gatam Institute, Tangerang, Indonesia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.