Case Reports
. 2021 Aug 2;13(8):e16822.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.16822.
eCollection 2021 Aug.
Affiliations
Affiliations
- 1 Neurological Surgery, University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, USA.
- 2 Osteopathic Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Bradenton, USA.
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Case Reports
Kyungduk Rho et al.
Cureus.
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. 2021 Aug 2;13(8):e16822.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.16822.
eCollection 2021 Aug.
Affiliations
- 1 Neurological Surgery, University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, USA.
- 2 Osteopathic Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Bradenton, USA.
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Abstract
Here we present a novel application of cortical bone trajectory (CBT) fixation utilizing robotic guidance in a previously instrumented spine with a traditional pedicle screw (PS), obviating the need for a larger posterior incision, reducing the risk of infection, muscular dissection, and likely decreasing hospital length of stay. A 60-year-old woman with prior left L3-L4 extreme lateral interbody fusion and unilateral percutaneous PS placed at L3 to L5 presented with progressive bilateral lower-extremity pain and diminished sensation in the S1 dermatome secondary to adjacent segment disease (ASD). The patient underwent an L5-S1 anterior lumbar interbody fusion for indirect decompression and restoration of segmental lordosis. After the first stage was completed, she was turned prone for posterior percutaneous instrumentation. Given prior instrumentation at L3-L5 on the left side, a robot planning software was used to plan a cortical bone screw on the left L5 pedicle. A left S1 PS was then planned with the screw head aligning with the left L5 cortical bone screw. Instrumentation was then placed percutaneously using the robot bilaterally without issue. Intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging demonstrated accurate placement of PS, and postoperative computed tomography demonstrated the excellent positioning of all PSs. This report is the first documented case of a robotically placed CBT screw placed in the same pedicle as a prior traditional PS for ASD. This method expands the surgical options for ASD to include robotic percutaneous placement of posterior instrumentation at the same level as previous instrumentation.
Keywords:
cortical bone trajectory; mazor robot; minimally invasive surgery; navigation; robotics; stealth; technology.
Copyright © 2021, Rho et al.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors have declared financial relationships, which are detailed in the next section.
Figures

Figure 1. Preoperative lumbar MRI demonstrating L5-S1…
Figure 1. Preoperative lumbar MRI demonstrating L5-S1 disc bulge with disc collapse and modic changes…
Figure 1. Preoperative lumbar MRI demonstrating L5-S1 disc bulge with disc collapse and modic changes at L5 and S1 loss of segmental lordosis secondary to ASD.
MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; ASD, adjacent segment disease.

Figure 2. Intraoperative imaging following placement of…
Figure 2. Intraoperative imaging following placement of the anterior interbody with the restoration of segmental…
Figure 2. Intraoperative imaging following placement of the anterior interbody with the restoration of segmental lordosis and indirect foraminal decompression

Figure 3. Anterior-posterior X-ray following placement of…
Figure 3. Anterior-posterior X-ray following placement of the L5-S1 anterior interbody demonstrating unilateral posterior instrumentation…
Figure 3. Anterior-posterior X-ray following placement of the L5-S1 anterior interbody demonstrating unilateral posterior instrumentation from L3-L5 on the left side

Figure 4. Postoperative anterior-posterior X-ray demonstrating right-sided…
Figure 4. Postoperative anterior-posterior X-ray demonstrating right-sided traditional pedicle posterior instrumentation from L4-S1 on the…
Figure 4. Postoperative anterior-posterior X-ray demonstrating right-sided traditional pedicle posterior instrumentation from L4-S1 on the right side. On the left side is an additional posterior construct at L5-S1 with a cortical bone trajectory screw at the same level as a traditional pedicle crew in the left L5 pedicle

Figure 5. Postoperative axial computed tomography demonstrating…
Figure 5. Postoperative axial computed tomography demonstrating the presence of a cortical bone trajectory screw…
Figure 5. Postoperative axial computed tomography demonstrating the presence of a cortical bone trajectory screw in the same pedicle as a traditionally oriented screw
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