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Applications of navigation in full-endoscopic spine surgery

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Abstract

Purpose

Advancement in all surgery continues to progress towards more minimally invasive surgical (MIS) approaches. One of the platform technologies which has helped drive this trend within spine surgery is the development of endoscopy; however, the limited anatomic view experienced when performing endoscopic spine surgery requires a significant learning curve. The use of intraoperative navigation has been adapted for endoscopic spine surgery, as this provides computer-reconstructed visual data presented in three dimensions, which can increase feasibility of this technique to more surgeons.

Methods

This paper will describe the principles, technical considerations, and applications of stereotactic navigation-guided endoscopic spine surgery.

Results

Full-endoscopic spine surgery has advanced in recent years such that it can be utilized in both decompressive and fusion surgeries. One of the major pitfalls to any minimally invasive surgery (including endoscopic) is that the limited surgical view can often complicate the surgery or confuse the surgeon, leading to longer operative times, higher risks, among others. This is the real utility to using navigation in conjunction with the endoscope—when registered correctly and utilized appropriately, navigated endoscopic spine surgery can take some of the guesswork out of the minimally invasive approach.

Conclusions

Using navigation with endoscopy in spine surgery can potentially expand this technique to surgeons who have yet to master endoscopy as the assistance provided by the navigation can alleviate some of the complexities with anatomic understanding and surgical planning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53792, USA

    Bradley T. Schmidt & Nathaniel P. Brooks

  2. Department of Neurological Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Chiayi Branch, Chia-Yi, Taiwan

    Kuo-Tai Chen

  3. Department of Neurological Surgery, College of Medicine, Seoul St Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    JinSung Kim

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  1. Bradley T. Schmidt
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Correspondence to Bradley T. Schmidt.

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Schmidt, B.T., Chen, KT., Kim, J. et al. Applications of navigation in full-endoscopic spine surgery. Eur Spine J 33, 429–437 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07918-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07918-8

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