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Pioneering New Spine and Back Care Options for Patients in Pennsylvania

Facing spine surgery may seem intimidating for a patient. At the AHN Neuroscience Institute, their team of board-certified neurosurgeons understands how debilitating a spine or back condition can be.

[caption id="attachment_5043" align="alignleft" width="375"]Mazor X The Mazor X system is a robotic-assisted, spine surgery technique which utilizes enhanced analytical tools, precision guidance, optical tracking and intra-operative verification capabilities to make spine surgery safer and less invasive for patients.[/caption]

These uniquely qualified spine specialists use some of the latest surgical techniques and imaging technologies to help relieve chronic pain. “It’s basically a way of seeing inside the human body without actually having to cut it open, so if you can do that it’s less pain for the patients, and it’s more accurate so there’s a lot of added benefits to the robots that we use,” Dr. Alexander Yu, MD. One of those new, minimally invasive techniques is a robotic system called Mazor X™.

The Mazor X system is a robotic-assisted, spine surgery technique which utilizes enhanced analytical tools, precision guidance, optical tracking and intra-operative verification capabilities to make spine surgery safer and less invasive for patients. AHN surgeons were the first in Pennsylvania to perform surgery using this technology which combines a suite of pre-operative analytics software designed to assess spinal alignment and implement computerized 3D surgical planning. Intra-operative guidance is provided to surgeons through a robotic surgical arm designed to guide tools and synergistic implants according to the pre-operative analytics.

The Mazor X system can be used to treat a host of conditions like spinal stenosis, scoliosis and spondylolisthesis that often cause debilitating symptoms, such as low back pain, leg pain and sciatica. The technology can also improve outcomes from spinal fusion procedures, or the process of fusing two or more vertebrae together to create a single continuous bone. Used to treat broken vertebrae, spinal deformities or spinal instability, surgeons often implant metallic plates, screws or rods to hold and graft the bone to promote healing. An estimated 500,000 Americans undergo the procedure each year for low back pain alone.

While less invasive techniques have helped minimize the trauma of surgery, many intraoperative X-rays are typically required without a guidance system to compensate for a surgeon’s compromised visualization. Among its many potential benefits, the Mazor X system reduces the risk of exposure to radiation from X-ray imaging typically used during surgery.

The addition of the Mazor X system builds upon AHN’s legacy of innovation in robotic-assisted surgery. In 2015, orthopaedic surgeons at West Penn Hospital were the first to perform robotic-assisted total-hip and partial-knee replacements using the MAKO™ Robotic Technology. AHN doctors were also at the forefront of using the da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System in the early 2000s and currently use the pioneering technology at various hospitals to perform minimally invasive abdominal, urologic, gynecologic and cardiac procedures.

About the AHN Neuroscience Institute

The AHN Neuroscience Institute is a leader in providing innovative, expert medical and surgical treatment to patients with complex brain, spine, and neurological conditions. Serving as an international referral center for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, brain tumor, stroke and more, the AHN Neuroscience Institute has been accredited and recognized for the quality of its patient care.

Learn more about The Mazor X system and how AHN helps patients with back pain by listening to the Health Care Reinvented Podcast Series at http://healthcarereinvented.pghtechnet.libsynpro.com

• daVinci® is a registered trademark of Intuitive Surgical and is used with permission. • Mazor X Stealth Edition™ Robotic Guidance System is a trademark of Medtronic, Inc. and is used with permission. • Mako™ Robotic Technology is property of Stryker© and is used with permission.