The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have cleared the Altos (Centinel Spine) posterior cervical thoracic stabilisation system. The product is indicated for use in either the lateral masses of the cervical spine or the pedicles of the cervical-thoracic spine.
Centinel Spine have also announced in a press release that the first surgical implantation of the Altos system has taken place. The surgery was performed by Gery Hsu, CRMC Medical Associates, Coffeyville, USA on 4 January 2016.
Altos is the first FDA-cleared posterior cervical thoracic system specifically designed for implantation into either the cervical lateral masses or the cervical-thoracic pedicles, according to Centinel Spine. This low profile, stabilisation system is designed to offer both fully threaded and smooth shank polyaxial screws with 80 degrees of freedom for simple insertion in the most demanding spinal anatomies. The system also provides laminar hooks, connectors, straight and curved rods for customisable constructs that meet each patient’s anatomical needs to provide outstanding clinical outcomes.
Jason E Garber, Western Regional Center for Brain & Spine Surgery, Las Vegas, USA, explains, “Altos is a comprehensive system that was designed to provide the surgical versatility needed to address posterior cervical spinal pathologies. The low profile system is simple to insert minimising patient trauma and surgical time. It can also be easily customised to successfully address many patients’ degenerative pathologies.”
