Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Ed Yeates ReportingFor the first time, three pieces of high tech equipment have been brought together into one new system that does an amazing job repairing a fracture in the spine.
One day, six months ago, while osteoporosis patient Sheryl Bair was fighting pneumonia, she coughed hard and something snapped in her back. When her doctor took a look...
Sheryl Bair, Patient: "He looked at me and said, 'I think you've fractured your vertebrae. Took an x-ray and sure enough, that's what it was."
But today, that painful fracture was repaired in less than an hour, using a combination of what's called Kyphoplasty, Stealth Navigation, a rotating arm that takes digital pictures, and some amazing 3-D imaging.
The marriage of this new 3-D technology means the surgeon is no longer blindsided. He sees everything, targeting the repair with remarkable precision.
Winston Capel, M.D., Neurosurgeon, Lakeview Hospital: "Once the spine is digitized, we can navigate within a millimeter degree of accuracy from the skin, which allows us to make incisions directly where we're going to work."
Dr. Winston Capel watches the segmented 3-D views of the targeted area on a monitor, even the back side of the spine, in real time - all while he's navigating to make the repair.
Dr. Capel: "The side we can't see on the other side of the pedicule is the one most vulnerable to the patient, where the nerves lie and run. So, this really adds greater safety."
With a needle located exactly inside the fracture, a balloon is inflated then removed. Bone cement fills the void and the repair is complete.
Sheryl Bair: "Dr. Capel tole me within an hour after the surgery, I would be up walking."
Precise, very little tissue damage, and only two little marks left behind. And what about the recovery? Patients go home the next day, or sooner.
Other hospitals along the Wasatch Front are also getting the new system. Though it's more than a half million dollar investment, surgeons say it's a small price when faced with safety and liability issues.
