Medicrea has announced that the world’s first minimally-invasive spine surgery using patient-specific implants has been performed by Christopher J Kleck at the University of Colorado Hospital (Boulder, USA) using the company’s UNiD Rod.
The limited visualisation of the spine associated with minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques poses unique challenges for surgeons whose goal is segmental sagittal balance, while offering known benefits to patients which include reduced muscle damage during surgery and improved recovery time post-operatively.
The UNiD MIS Rod is the first and only spinal implant in the world manufactured specifically for the patient prior to MIS. The UNiD MIS Rod is compatible with percutaneous and mini-open MIS applications, removing the need to modify implants intra-operatively.
“As one of the early adopters of UNiD ASI, I have seen first-hand the associated benefits of the technology in open deformity cases. I am pleased to extend it now to my MIS cases where I see the potential for increased utility in degenerative indications.” states Kleck following the surgery. “With each patient-specific implant designed utilising Medicrea’s support services, machine learning and predictive analytics, my colleagues and I have seen an improved efficiency in our pre-surgical as well as our surgical practice. I believe this scientific, data-driven model is the best approach available to optimise long-term patient results and represents the future of value-based spinal care.”
