Ninety-Day Complication and Revision Surgery Rates Using Navigated Robotics in Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery: A PRoGRSS Interim Analysis.

BACKGROUND

Individually, robotic guidance and 3-dimensional navigation assistance have been shown to improve surgical outcomes and accuracy in spine surgery. The pairing of these technologies may further improve outcomes; however, data are needed to support this theory. In the Prospective Robotic-Guided Registry of Spine Surgery (PRoGRSS), outcomes were tracked for cases using a bone-mounted integrated robotic-assisted navigation system. This interim analysis reports on 90-day complications and revisions.

METHODS

Adults undergoing navigated robotic thoracolumbar surgery from 2020 to 2022 were prospectively enrolled by 6 surgeons at 4 distinct centers. Medical, surgical, and robot-related complications and revision surgeries were collected postoperatively for up to 90 days and analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 411 surgeries, 3469 screws were implanted. The mean number of levels fused was 4.4 ± 3.7. Intraoperative adverse events occurred in 4.1% of cases, and 0.5% were robot related. The frequency of patients with at least 1 postoperative surgical complication was 6.6%, none being robot related. The frequency of patients with at least 1 postoperative medical complication was 18.2%. The revision surgery rate at 90 days was 1.5%, none of which were robot related.

CONCLUSION

This first-of-its-kind study of an integrated navigation and robotic spine platform demonstrates low complication and revision surgery rates for thoracolumbar fusion. This interim analysis of PRoGRSS showed 4.1% intraoperative complications, 6.6% postoperative surgical complications, and 1.5% revision surgeries. With advancements in technology and increased surgical expertise, navigated robotics continues to demonstrate consistently low rates of 90-day complications and revision surgeries, supporting its reliability.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The interim analysis of PRoGRSS suggests that the integration of robotic guidance with 3-dimensional navigation is reproducibly effective in the surgical setting.