Doctors Marcus, Sanderson, and Gilligan Make Medical History with Connecticut’s First-Ever Prone Lateral Surgery
May 10, 2023
Source: Globus Medical
During the first week of April, Danbury Hospital became the first hospital in Connecticut to perform robotic prone lateral surgery. Dr. Joshua Marcus performed the first case, followed by Dr. Scott Sanderson just two days later.
Making History
Excelsius™ Prone Lateral is a comprehensive, robotic navigation assisted lateral solution that enables a single-position, single-stage approach for both direct and indirect decompression.
First Robotic Prone Lateral Case with Dr. Marcus
Dr. Joshua Marcus wanted posterior and anterior column support as the patient had very small 4.5mm pedicles at both levels. He utilized ExcelsiusGPS® to help plan and place CREO MIS® screws before navigating a RISE®-L lateral expandable spacer.
“Previously this would have been a two-stage procedure: the RISE®-L cage would need to be placed in the lateral position, and then the patient would need to be rolled over to the prone position for a direct decompression and screw placement. The new Globus patient positioner and ExcelsiusGPS® enabled us to accomplish both procedures in one prone position, helping us save time, reduce blood loss, and dramatically minimize the need for intraoperative fluoroscopy and radiation.” – Dr. Joshua Marcus, Neurosurgeon
Second Robotic Prone Lateral Case with Dr. Sanderson
Dr. Scott Sanderson performed his first robotic prone LLIF (the second at Danbury Hospital) with his new neurosurgeon partner Dr. Jeff Gilligan just two days after Dr. Marcus’ successful case.
Dr. Sanderson’s patient had a previously successful L3-L5 fusion with instrumentation, but had since developed severe stenosis and a large right sided disc herniation.
To avoid subjecting the older patient to a two-stage lateral and posterior procedure, Dr. Sanderson used Globus’ new Patient Positioning System and ExcelsiusGPS® with CREO MIS® screws and RISE®-L cage for a one-stage prone lateral procedure. He utilized the navigated dilators to position his MARS™3VL retractor and then placed the RISE®-L lateral expandable spacer followed by a direct posterior decompression and in situ fusion with pedicle screws and rods.
“Having extensive experience with lateral surgery was very helpful to make the adjustment to the Excelsius™ Prone Lateral technique. The navigated dilators for retractor placement and navigated disc prep and cage insertion instruments used to place the RISE®-L cage were game changing.” – Dr. Scott Sanderson, Neurosurgeon
The surgery was performed in less time than the patient’s previous staged procedure, with less recorded blood loss and with almost no additional intraoperative fluoroscopy and radiation.
Learn more about this cutting-edge technique that our spine specialists took to reduce surgical risks and patient recovery time by reading the full story!
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