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Premier Health First in Nation to Use Minimally-Invasive Robotic System in Spine Surgery

Members of the Premier Health/Medtech team gather after the first U.S. surgery using ROSA Spine. The surgery took place April 21 at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, which is part of Premier Health. Standing with the ROSA Spine robotic device are, left to right: Scott Wherry; Michael VanWinkle; Juan Torres-Reveron, MD, PhD; Thibaud Partridge; and Eric Heinz. Medtech officials are in red surgical caps, while Dr. Torres-Reveron of Premier Health is in a blue surgical cap.

DAYTON, OH (May 9, 2016) – In a first for the United States, Premier Health has used a robotic device that is transforming how doctors operate on the spine, potentially reducing how much time patients spend in the hospital during recovery.

The patient underwent a successful surgery with the ROSA™ Spine device on April 21 at Miami Valley Hospital. She spent three days recovering in the hospital, says Dr. Juan Torres-Reveron, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon with the Premier Health Neuroscience Institute. In the past, a patient might have spent a week or more in the hospital following such an operation.

“The robot allows us to preplan trajectories when we are placing screws in the lumbar spine, thereby giving us greater control during procedures,” says Dr. Torres-Reveron. “We’re right at the cusp of changing how we do minimally invasive spine surgery. This is an amazing and exciting breakthrough.”

A philanthropic gift from the Robert H. Brethen Foundation made the purchase of ROSA™ Spine possible.

Successful spinal fusions depend on a surgeon’s ability to accurately place screws into an extremely narrow area of the spine. Surgeons rely on the use of multiple images of the patient’s spine as well as their own expertise and intuition, Dr. Torres-Reveron says.

“Spine surgeries require precise movements of the surgical instruments,” he says. “ROSA™ Spine has the ability to take any movements or obstacles into account and adjust accordingly, helping to ensure that the surgical plan can be followed as closely as possible. That’s especially important in cases where there could be rotation of the spine.”

Instead of a single incision measuring up to seven inches, surgeons at Miami Valley Hospital now can make two to three incisions measuring about 1½ inches each. That’s why many patients return home sooner after their procedure, though total recovery time is still typically two months.

The addition of the ROSA™ Spine comes just months after Premier Health became the first in Southwest Ohio to purchase and use the ROSA™ Brain device in advanced brain surgery procedures. Much like ROSA™ Spine, the technology acts like a GPS, mapping the target location for each procedure. ROSA™ Brain was first used in February at Miami Valley Hospital.

ROSA™ Brain offers a minimally invasive way to find the source of seizures in epileptic patients, as well as the ability to accurately plan placement of devices that help treat the source of the seizures. ROSA™ Brain also can be used for brain biopsies.

ROSA™ Spine and ROSA™ Brain will also be used for research and training in the Brethen Center for surgical advancement in robotics and minimally invasive surgery. 

“We are grateful to the Robert H. Brethen Foundation for their continued support of emerging health-care technologies and for making it possible to acquire the first ROSA™ Spine in the United States,” says Mark Shaker, president and chief executive officer of Miami Valley Hospital. “Premier Health has long been a leader in bringing these advanced technologies to patients.”

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