A retrospective clinical study carried out by Gregory Lanford, neurosurgeon at St Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery, Nashville, USA, indicates that Safe Orthopaedics’ Sterispine system results in reduced postoperative infection, morbidity and mortality.
Lanford said: “Safe Orthopaedics’ Sterispine is a cost-effective system that negates the need for sterilisation and potentially lowers the infection rate by mitigating risks for cross-contamination. The instruments are easy to use by any surgeon experienced in pedicle screw fixation.”
A total of 45 patients underwent an instrumented lumbar fusion via an open or percutaneous approach using Sterispine kits between July 2013 and January 2015. Follow-up was conducted out to 12 months, with plain radiographs taken for each patient at one, three, six and 12 months postoperatively.
No cases of infection, morbidity or mortality were reported while the infection rate for instrumented lumbar fusion is commonly found in the literature at 3–6% with a peak at two weeks post-operatively.
Tim Nye, Safe Orthopaedics US vice president, added: “This study is an important milestone as it highlights the potential benefits of using Safe Orthopaedics products. We are very thankful to Gregory Lanford for this important work.”
