NuVasive has announced the US commercial launch of Brigade Lateral, the industry’s first interbody implant and instrumentation optimised for lateral anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) spine surgery.
NuVasive’s Lateral ALIF is a proprietary spine procedure enabling access to L5-S1 from a lateral position, while retaining the characteristics of a traditional ALIF. Brigade Lateral features improved instrumentation, a new insertion method and an expanded lordotic implant offering, all optimised for improved workflow and outcomes through the Lateral ALIF procedure. The technology’s threaded in-line inserter is angled off the midline and positioned on the lateral edge of the implant to better access the L5-S1 spine levels, which have typically been very difficult to treat effectively.
The instrumentation is designed to offer surgeons a low-profile and reproducible insertion method, enhancing the overall surgical workflow in the operating room (OR). With a variety of lordotic implant options, Brigade Lateral allows surgeons to customise lordosis based on a patient’s need which is important to preserving and restoring spinal alignment.
“The NuVasive Lateral ALIF procedure, coupled with the Brigade Lateral implant and instrumentation specifically designed for this approach, is a game changer for me and my patients,” said Michael Cluck, orthopaedic surgeon at Bay Area Spine Care in San Jose, California, USA. “When used with minimally invasive surgical techniques, Lateral ALIF allows surgeons to complete a standard ALIF and posterior fixation from one position for both single-level and, more importantly, multi-level lumbar spinal fusions.”
Lateral ALIF is integrated into NuVasive’s lateral single-position surgery platform which is intended to increase OR efficiency by reducing the need for patient repositioning which may result in a patient being under anaesthesia for a decreased amount of time.
