MONDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In patients undergoing spinal stabilization, intraoperative computed tomography in combination with neuronavigation improves the accuracy of screw placement, according to a study in the Dec. 15 issue of Spine.
Stefan Zausinger, M.D., of Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, and colleagues studied 94 patients who underwent the procedure and were clinically evaluated after surgery and at three months.
In all cases, the researchers found that the procedure was accurate within less than 2 millimeters and resulted in only 14 minutes of additional time. They also found that no reoperations were required because of implant malposition, and that the overall revision rate of 8.5 percent was significantly lower than the 10.4 percent rate observed in a previous study of patients who underwent navigated thoracolumbar transpedicular stabilizations.
"The system can be installed into a pre-existing operating environment without need for special surgical instruments," the authors conclude. "The procedure is rapid and easy to perform without restricted access to the patient and -- by replacing pre- and postoperative imaging -- is not associated with an additional exposure to radiation. Multidisciplinary use increases utilization of the system and thus improves cost-efficiency relation."
The study was supported by Siemens Healthcare and BrainLAB.
Abstract
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