Standing tall: The life-changing power of robotic technology in spinal surgery
In 2018, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Kathy E. McNamara reached out to the Bone & Joint Institute at Hartford Healthcare. She met with Dr. Hanbing “Steve” Zhou, an orthopedic surgeon at the Bone & Joint Institute at Hartford Healthcare. At 68 years old, she had been suffering from scoliosis that caused severe pain as her spine progressively curved forward. Normally standing at a height of
5’5, she could not straighten her back to reach more than 4’8.
“It had to be at least two years where I could not stand up straight,” says Judge McNamara. “So, I did physical therapy.
I did everything I could to push against gravity to stand up straight, and I couldn’t do it.” As time went on, she started tipping over more and more which had a significant impact on her quality of life. While she was able to go to work, she could no longer enjoy walks with her dogs or travel to see family in other states.
Dr. Zhou, her orthopedic surgeon, says, “Honestly, she had been valiantly living through a lot of the pain, still going to work every day.”
In most cases, Dr. Zhou points out that surgery is a last resort, often chosen after less invasive treatments haven’t worked. Physical therapy, injections to control pain and inflammation and lifestyle changes are the first course of action. However, once those are exhausted, surgery may be the best option.
That was the case for Judge McNamara, who had exhausted all other options, including injections and physical therapy.
Finally, May 10, 2021 arrived— the date she scheduled her surgery.
“We have some of the latest technologies on the market in terms of spine care here,” says Dr. Zhou.
Focused on getting his patient comfortable and standing upright again, Dr. Zhou along with Hartford HealthCare neurosurgeon Dr. Mohammed Khaled used roboticassisted technology. They placed special screws in the patient’s spine to help straighten and support the vertebrae.
“With this robotic-assisted technology, not only am I able to make the incisions smaller and place the screw with perfect accuracy, but we also minimize the chance of the nerve injury,” says Dr. Zhou.
There are other benefits as well. The incision is smaller and more precise leading to less blood loss. Furthermore, there is a decreased amount of x-rays required in the operating room.
During a traditional spinal surgery, the patient is injected with a special fluorescent dye so that a contrasted image of the interior anatomy appears when x-rayed. This allows the surgeon to better navigate the trajectory and placement of the screws. Using robotic technology, a preset trajectory based on a preoperative CT scan is used, lowering the exposure to radiation for the patients, doctors and surgical support team.
“Certainly, in my opinion, this can lead to better patient outcomes overall,” says Dr. Zhou.
After the surgery, Judge McNamara was in intensive care for a few weeks. She says, “My first day out of bed after the surgery in intensive care, they got me out of bed, had me stand up and the first thing I saw was my physical therapist eyes. I had not been able to look someone in the eyes for years because I was so bent over.”
Today, Judge McNamara is standing upright, enjoying walks with her dogs every day and making plans to see a great niece in Colorado who hasn’t yet had the chance to meet.
She says, “I can’t stress enough how these guys, they actually gave me my life back.” She also credits both her surgeons for not just the successful outcome but with the caring relationships established throughout the course of her care.
Dr. Zhou says, “It was one of the proudest moments in my career.”
For more information about the Hartford HealthCare Bone & Joint Institute, attend Hartford HealthCare’s Facebook Live event on Oct. 20 at 12:30 p.m. or call 833-444-0014.
— Jessica Chesler for Hartford HealthCare
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