The impact of robot-assisted spine surgeries on clinical outcomes: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Medical robotics has enabled a significant advancement in the field of modern spine surgery, especially in pedicle screw fixation. A plethora of studies focused on the accuracy of pedicle fixation in robotic-assisted (RA) technology. However, it is not clear whether RA techniques can improve patients' clinical outcomes.

Methods: We retrieved relevant studies that compare the differences between RA and freehand (FH) techniques in spine surgeries from the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The perioperative outcomes of this technology were measured with parameters including radiation exposure, operative time, the length of hospital stay, complication rates and revision rates. Two reviewers independently reviewed the studies in our sample, assessed their validity and extracted relevant data.

Results: Our search resulted in a sample of 23 eligible studies, which involved 1247 patients (5042 pedicle screws) in the RA group and 1273 patients (4830 pedicle screws) in the FH group. With regard to the radiation exposure, the fluoroscopy time was less in surgeries assisted by Mazor robots (standard mean difference [SMD] = -0.96, 95% CI = -1.60 to -0.31) but more in Tianji robots (SMD = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.17 to 1.66) and ROSA robots (SMD = 2.57, 95% CI = 2.01 to 3.13). For radiation dose, a decrease was observed in Tianji robots (SMD = -1.59, 95% CI = -2.13 to -1.05). In the lumbar subgroup, the use of robots increased the operative time (SMD = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.86). In the degenerative diseases (DG) group, there was a significant decrease in the length of hospital stay when robots were introduced (SMD = -0.30, 95% CI = -0.48 to -0.12). While in the DF (deformity) and DG group, a significant increase was found (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.32). The complication (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.26 to 0.66) and the revision rates (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.24 to 0.60) showed a significant decrease in the RA group compared to the conventional FH group.

Conclusions: This study suggests that RA spine surgeries would result in fewer complications, a lower revision rate and shorter length of hospital stay. As the technology continues to evolve, we may expect more applications of robotic systems in spine surgeries.

Keywords: clinical outcome; freehand; pedicle screw fixation; radiation; robot-assisted.