Robotic Spinal Surgery at The Ridgeway Hospital
Robotic Spinal Surgery at The Ridgeway Hospital
The Ridgeway Hospital are delighted to announce the acquisition of the cutting-edge Mazor™ Robotic technology, a transformative tool in the realm of spine surgery. This strategic move underscores our commitment to providing unparalleled patient care by integrating state-of-the-art technology to enhance surgical precision, reduce surgery duration, and improve overall patient outcomes.
The Mazor™ Robotic system is renowned for its revolutionary approach to spine surgery. By incorporating advanced robotics and navigation, it enables Mr Orpen at The Ridgeway to perform procedures with an unprecedented level of accuracy. This precision not only optimises surgical outcomes but also significantly reduces the risk of complications, ensuring a safer experience for patients.
One of the most significant benefits to patients is the potential reduction in surgery duration. The Mazor™ system streamlines the surgical process, allowing for quicker, more efficient procedures. This decrease in time under anaesthesia not only minimises potential risks but also facilitates a faster recovery, enabling patients to return to their daily activities sooner.
The integration of the Mazor™ system is part of Circle's broader mission to enhance healthcare delivery through innovation. Patients undergoing spine surgery can now expect a procedure that is not only more precise but also tailored to their specific needs, ultimately leading to better surgical outcomes and improved quality of life.
The arrival of The Mazor™ is a significant step forward for the hospital as it looks to become a spinal centre of excellence in 2025. Investing in technology and pioneering new approaches in this field is a key priority for the hospital’s management team.
One element of spinal surgery ( fusion surgery ) involves the placement of metal screws into the spine to facilitate stability while the spine fuses over time. These screws need to be placed accurately to avoid damage to spinal nerves , blood vessels and also to ensure as best a hold as possible so as not to pull out of the position they are placed. Despite the best experience there is still a risk that every surgeon could place these incorrectly and so lead to complications that require further surgery to correct or lead to a less the ideal outcome of the surgery itself.
One form of modern technology is described as navigation surgery. This involves the use of digital tracking of the surgical screw using a computer in very much the same was as satellite navigation works in a car. In principle this gives a real time simulation of the screw and instrument to allow the surgeon to watch exactly where the screw is passing into the position they choose. The type if navigation systems available now are varied but typically are not routinely used in every centre due to cost.
The system used at the Ridgeway is the Medtronic Stealth System
An O-arm is used to acquire detailed images of the spine during surgery. This system allows a far more accurate placement of screws than the traditional method of putting theses in place using fluoroscopy or naked eye which means a much greater chance the screws will not cause difficulty or that they will not do the job they are being used for
Using Navigation transformed how spinal surgery could be performed when it was introduced to the Ridgeway 10 years ago and a further development is the additional of a spinal surgical robot (Mazor™) to the navigation system. A robot allows the planning of precision of screw placement to be better than with the naked eye and also to use the surgical stability of a robotic arm to allow placement of screws with even greater precision than with a surgeon’s hand alone. Surgical outcome can now be improved by removing unpredictable aspects of surgery that could potentially lead to misplacement when using navigation alone.
Mr Neil Orpen
Mr Orpen is a fellowship-trained spinal surgeon specialising exclusively in spinal conditions. He trained in orthopaedics and spinal surgery in Oxford and Bristol, with further advanced training in complex spinal procedures across the UK and Europe.
He has a particular interest in minimally invasive and microsurgical spinal techniques, spinal tumours, fractures, back and neck pain, and disc replacement surgery. These advanced approaches aim to reduce trauma, speed up recovery, and lower surgical risks.
Mr Orpen offers both surgical and non-surgical treatments, including nerve blocks, facet joint injections, and rhizolysis. He is also experienced in cement augmentation procedures such as kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty.
Actively involved in surgical innovation and training, Mr Orpen contributes to developing advanced spinal techniques and educating fellow surgeons and theatre teams.
