Surgery combining O-Arm and robotics, a boon for patients with spinal deformities

The Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), a super speciality institute, has become India’s first healthcare facility to integrate the O-Arm - a cone beam CT scanner - with the MAZOR X™️ Stealth Edition - a robotic surgical system for conducting spinal sugery with maximum accuracy.

Any error while operating on patients with spinal ailments, especially in challenging cases of revision surgery or severe spinal deformities, can have a devastating effect like paralysis or, in some cases, even death. According to ISIC doctors, this technology has come as a boon as it improves the outcome with less pain.

“The surgery combining robotics and O-Arm not only helps in improving the accuracy of inserting screws during the surgery, it also lowers the risk of paralysis and exposure to radiation, blood loss and postoperative pain. With the increase in challenging spinal surgeries and minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS), this technology helps in conducting surgeries with precision and better outcomes,” Dr H.S. Chhabra, Medical Doctor & Chief of Spine Service, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, said.

ISIC’s doctors have successfully operated on two young girls suffering from spinal deformities using the newly-inducted integrated system. 13-year-old Swati from New Delhi was diagnosed with early onset acquired thoracic scoliosis that bent her spine at 85 degrees. On the other hand, 16-year-old Mannatpreet was suffering from sequelae of spinal TB since 2018, and had a hunch back spinal deformity, following conservative tuberculosis treatment, with a potential for paralysis.

In an interaction with BusinessLine, Chhabra said, “the surgery can cost in the range of Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 11 lakh, depending upon the number of fusion levels required and the severity of the deformity.” He added that currently, the patient will have to incur an additional Rs 50,000, which is over and above the cost he may have to bear if he goes for the conventional surgery. This promotional discount is valid for three months, he said.

Meanwhile, Mannatpreet’s father told BusinessLine the surgery cost him around Rs 8.75 lakh. He thanked ISIC for the successful surgery of his daughter, who had been facing difficulty in walking for the last three years.

“The integrated system can enable healthcare providers to skip mandatory pre- and post-operative steps such as a CT scan, as developments can be monitored as they take place on the operation table. Besides, the combination reduces drastically the possibility of a patient getting paralysis post-operation or acquiring an infection, which, in turn, contributes to faster recovery and a shorter hospitalisation period,” Chhabra said.

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