Spine Surgeon In New Jersey Announces Robotic Spine Surgery

Joshua Rovner, MD, with Progressive Spine and Orthopaedics in Englewood, New Jersey, has announced a new treatment option for those suffering from back issues. Dr. Rovner is one of the few spine specialists who use robotic spine surgery, which is a relatively new trend in spinal surgery. Robotic spine surgery has been found to improve efficiency and safety of all spinal procedures.

The spine surgeon in New Jersey says, "There have been a lot of great developments over the years in the field of medicine but there is none that will come close to the benefits being offered by robotic spinal surgery."

Dr. Rovner says that in traditional spinal surgery, the surgeon would need to determine the best placement for screws and this determination would be made using only x-rays that were taken right before the surgery. During these traditional surgeries, the surgeon would have to rely on his or her own judgement, remembering the x-rays, in order to find the proper placement for screws. X-rays have proven to be faulty in some cases, however, and have caused many surgeries to be unsuccessful. Dr. Rovner says that even the slightest mistake could lead to severe consequences for the patient, which could include chronic pain and in extreme cases, paralysis.

"It was a difficult procedure on all counts," says Dr. Rovner. "Even though spinal surgery needed to be done, it was more a hit and miss than it was a guaranteed fix. Now, with robotic spinal surgery, we have a much better chance at reaching 100 percent success in more cases than not."

The doctor states that while there are still some risks involved, as there are with all surgeries, robotic surgery is a much safer option than traditional surgery. Robotic surgery is more precise so it allows for a more successful surgery overall. These techniques can also increase the precision of the screw placement to an accuracy of just 1mm, which was unheard of before robotic spinal surgery was introduced. Dr. Rovner says that those interested can learn more about these types of surgeries by visiting the Progressive Spine and Orthopaedics Facebook page.

The New Jersey surgeon says that not only is robotic spinal surgery more precise and safer, it also reduces the recovery time for patients as well as their pain level. He states that this could help lead to lower risk of addiction to pain killing narcotics as back surgeries are one of the main reasons listed by those who have become addicted. With recovery times lowered, patients can also get back to work and to their normal lives much sooner than with traditional spinal surgery.

Dr. Rovner says that as with any surgery, there are of course, good and bad points to consider. Neurosurgery is a complex topic and an more complex techniques for spinal surgery are a bit more challenging than other neurosurgeries. X-rays help to reduce the risk of misplacing screws, but x-rays can be faulty. Robotic spinal surgery does help to lower the risk for many of these issues and has been proven to make surgeries on the spine less invasive and, therefore, safer. Surgeons use the guidance of robots to help reduce the risk of misplacing the spinal screws and the risk can be lowered by as much as 10 percent. The risk of nerve damage from the surgery drops by a large percentage as well. In general, robotic spinal surgery can increase the rate of proper screw placement by as much as 98 percent overall.

The doctor states that this procedure has revolutionized the world of neurosurgery and more specifically, the world of spinal surgery. Robotic surgery is still new to the world of medicine, but great strides have been realized over the past few years. Many medical professionals believe that with time, robotic surgery will become the norm as opposed to the alternative. Many claim that robotic surgeries, for other surgical needs in addition to spinal surgeries, should be available in a number of hospitals within the next few years as more and more successful surgeries are achieved.

Dr. Rovner is a board certified surgeon by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons. He is licensed to practice in New Jersey and in New York and is an expert at robotic spine surgery. He states that those who need spinal surgery and are looking at alternatives to traditional surgery, can contact his practice to schedule a consultation or learn more on their official website. Those interested in scheduling a consultation can find Progressive Spine on Google Maps for directions to the New Jersey practice.