Baptist Health Pioneers Mazor X for Spine Surgery; Little Rock Procedure is First in State

Dr. David Connor (right) performs Arkansas’ first spine surgery using the Mazor X Robotic Guidance Platform.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec. 17, 2018) – Neurosurgeons at Baptist Health have performed the first robotically-assisted minimally invasive spine surgery in Arkansas using the Mazor X Robotic Guidance Platform. The procedure took place Friday, Dec. 14, at Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock by neurosurgeon Dr. David Connor.

The Mazor X Robotic Guidance Platform is only available to a small number of spine and orthopedic hospitals in the U.S.

“Baptist Health continues to bring the latest technologies to Arkansas,” said Greg Crain, Senior Vice President and Administrator of Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock. “The implementation of Mazor X provides our patients with an unparalleled quality of care and gives our neurosurgeons precise, state-of-the-art tools to ensure accuracy.”

Mazor X combines image-based pre-operative analytics with intra-operative guidance to create and execute a personalized surgical plan for the needs of a patient’s individual anatomy.

The technology allows an automated robotic “arm” to hold key surgical instrumentation in place for the neurosurgeon. Mazor X additionally looks at how the whole procedure affects a patient, with data to provide comprehensive treatment accuracy and advanced surgical precision.

It integrates and streamlines three complex processes:

• Image-based 3D planning of surgery
• Intra-operative guidance using precision mechanics
• Intra-operative verification of therapy placement using an X-Eye camera

Before entering the operating room, neurosurgeons use the 3D-planning functionality to develop an optimal surgery in a CT-based 3D simulation of the patient’s spine. Computer analytics provide the neurosurgeon with pre-operative data for procedure planning and intra-operative guidance during the procedure. Using these technologies, the neurosurgeon may operate with precision and efficiency.

Mazor increases favorable patient outcomes, including lowered surgery complication rates and reduced post-operative pain, according to clinical studies. The guidance platform also allows patients to recover in less time than they would via traditional surgical methods.

Types of spinal surgeries performed using Mazor X include:

• Open, MIS, and percutaneous posterior thoracolumbar approaches
• Scoliosis and other complex spinal deformities
• Pedicle screws – short and long fusions
• Transfacet screws and translaminar-facet screws