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ABSTRACT Introduction: The interest in spinal endoscopy is rising, particularly among younger spine surgeons. Formalized postgraduate training programs for endoscopic spinal surgery techniques are lacking behind. Methods: The authors performed a retrospective survey study amongst participants of the 2022 AMCICO endoscopic surgery symposium. Descriptive and correlative statistics were done on the surgeon's responses recorded in multiple-choice questions. In addition, surgeons were asked about their clinical experience and preferences with spinal endoscopy, training background, the types of lumbar endoscopic decompression they perform by approach, and future training requirements. SPSS (version 27) statistical software package was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistic measures were used to count responses and calculate the mean, range, standard deviation, and percentages. In addition, chi-square statistics were used to determine the strength of the association between factors. Results: The online survey was accessed by 321 surgeons, of which 92 completed it (53.4%). Demographic data showed the majority of responding surgeons being orthopedic surgeons (73.6%) and under the age of 50 (69.2%), with over half (51.1%) having less than three months of formalized training in endoscopic spinal surgery techniques. Most surgeons practiced uni-portal (58.9%) versus bi-portal (3.4%) spinal endoscopy. The transforaminal approach (65.5%) was preferred over the interlaminar method (34.4%). The bi-portal technique was indicated almost exclusively for the lumbar spine (94.8%). For endoscopically assisted spinal fusions, a uni-portal approach was preferred by 72% of surgeons over a bi-portal procedure (24.5%). 84.1% of respondents were interested in navigation, of which 30.7% preferred optical over electromagnetic technology (18.2%). Robotics was of interest to 51.1% of survey participants. Respondents' bias was estimated with course attendance assessments, with 37% of surgeons having attended all three days, 27.2% two days, and 16.3% one day. One-fifth of responding spine surgeons did not participate in any curriculum activities but completed the survey. The academic impact of the AMCICO endoscopy symposium was high, with 68.1% of respondents indicating interest in continued training and 61.1% of trainees ready to apply their newly acquired knowledge base to clinical practice. Conclusion: The interest in spinal endoscopy surgery techniques and protocols is high among AMCICO members. Many surgeons are interested in learning advanced endoscopic surgical techniques to integrate the technology into their surgical procedure portfolio to address common painful conditions of the degenerative spine beyond herniated discs and foraminal stenosis. The authors concluded that its academic impact was high based on the responses given by the participating surgeons. Level of evidence III; Retrospective study.
Resumo: Introdução: O interesse em cirurgia endoscópica da coluna tem aumentado especialmente entre os jovens cirurgiões, contudo, são poucos os centros que atualmente oferecem programas de treinamento nesta disciplina. Métodos: Foi realizada uma pesquisa retrospectiva entre os participantes do simpósio de "Cirurgia Minimamente Invasiva e Endoscópica da Coluna Vertebral" realizado durante o Congresso AMCICO 2022. Estatísticas descritivas e testes de correlação foram aplicados às respostas das perguntas de múltipla escolha. Os cirurgiões foram questionados sobre experiência clínica e preferências pela endoscopia espinhal, histórico de treinamento, tipos de descompressão lombar endoscópica que realizaram e requisitos futuros para um treinamento adicional. O software estatístico SPSS (versão 27) foi utilizado para a análise de dados. As medidas estatísticas descritivas foram utilizadas para quantificar as respostas e calcular a mediana, a média, o desvio padrão e as porcentagens. O qui-quadrado foi empregado para determinar a associação entre os fatores estudados. Resultados: A pesquisa on-line foi visualizada por 321 cirurgiões, dos quais 92 a completaram (53,4%). As informações demográficas mostraram que a maioria dos participantes são cirurgiões ortopédicos (73,6%) e menores de 50 anos (69,2%), com mais da metade deles (51,1%) possuindo menos de 3 meses de treinamento formal em técnicas endoscópicas. A maioria dos cirurgiões pratica abordagens uniportais (58,9%, contra 3,4% bi-portais). A abordagem transforaminal (65,5%) foi preferida em relação à abordagem interlaminar (34,4%). A abordagem biportal foi selecionada como a abordagem indicada para a região lombar (94,8%). Para a fusão endoscopia-assistida, a abordagem unilateral foi preferida por 72% dos participantes contra a abordagem biportal (24,5%). Os sistemas de navegação foram de interesse para 84,1% dos participantes, dos quais 30,7% responderam que preferiam a óptica em vez da eletromagnética (18,2%). O uso da robótica foi de interesse para 51,1% dos participantes. O viés dos participantes foi calculado com base no percentual de participação, onde 37% participaram de todos os 3 dias de conferências, 27,2% participaram de 2 dias e 16,3% participaram de apenas um dia. Um quinto dos cirurgiões não participaram das atividades do simpósio e ainda assim responderam à pesquisa. O impacto acadêmico do simpósio de "Cirurgia Minimamente Invasiva e Endoscópica da Coluna Vertebral" foi alto, com 68,1% dos participantes respondendo que têm interesse em treinamento adicional nestas técnicas e 61,1% respondendo que estão prontos para aplicar novos conhecimentos em sua prática médica. Conclusão: O interesse em técnicas cirúrgicas endoscópicas da coluna vertebral é alto entre os membros da AMCICO. Um grande número de cirurgiões está interessado em aprender técnicas cirúrgicas endoscópicas avançadas da coluna vertebral e integrar esta tecnologia como parte de suas ferramentas cirúrgicas para resolver problemas comuns que afetam a coluna com doença degenerativa, além de hérnias de disco e estenoses foraminais. Baseados nas respostas fornecidas pelos cirurgiões participantes, os autores concluem que o impacto acadêmico foi elevado. Nível de evidência III; Estudo retrospectivo.
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Subject(s)
Humans , SpineABSTRACT
International collaborations can be the key to overcoming innovation implementation hurdles. The authors report on a joint symposium between the International Society For The Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) and La Sociedad Iberolatinoamerica de Columna (SILACO), and La Sociedad Interamericana de Cirurgia de columna de Minima invasión (SICCMII) aimed at improving joint surgeon education programs. The symposium highlighted that patient-related spine care issues are similar across geographical, cultural, and language barriers. The sustainability of such programs depends on funding and mutually respectful relationships orchestrated by multi-lingual leaders who will bridge gaps created by geographical, cultural, and language barriers to effectively develop clinical research content focused on advancing surgeon education and improving patient outcomes across the Americas.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Synovial cysts are commonly associated with instability. Whether to fuse patients is a matter of controversy. Simple resection may offer favorable clinical outcomes but may come at the expense of recurrence rate. We describe our experience with the minimally invasive management of these lesions using microsurgical dissection through a tubular retractor system. MATERIALS: A retrospective cohort study of symptomatic patients with synovial cysts treated by a minimally invasive tubular approach from 2001 to 2018 was performed. We evaluated variables such as preexisting spinal pathology, previous surgery, radiological findings, comorbidities, and secondary surgery requiring fusion. We used the visual analog scale (VAS), the Oswestry disability index (ODI), and the Macnab scale for clinical evaluation. RESULTS: There were 35 patients with a mean age of 63 years. The mean duration of symptoms before surgery was 195 weeks. Axial pain was present in 77.1% of cases; radiculopathy was the main symptom in 94.3% of cases. The most frequent site was L4-L5 (62.8%). Presenting comorbidities were lumbar stenosis (28.6% of patients), spondylolisthesis (8.6%), and facet hypertrophy (31.4%). Mean surgical time was 143 minutes (range, 55-360 minutes). The mean hospital stay was 2 days, ranging from 1 to 5 days. No complications were encountered as a consequence of the surgical procedure. All patients showed neurophysiological improvement after surgical intervention. A total of 34 patients (97.14%) showed clinical improvement at the end of follow-up, averaging 17 months and ranging from 1 to 60 months, 28 patients (80%) had good to excellent Macnab outcomes, 6 patients (17.14%) were rated as fair, and 1 (2.86%) patient had a poor Macnab outcome. Radicular VAS significantly changed (P < .05) from a preoperative mean of 8.23 ± 1.24 to a postoperative mean of 2.23 ± 1.94. ODI significantly decreased (P < .05) from a preoperative of mean of 41.02 ± 12.56 to a postoperative of mean of 11.82 ± 10.56. We performed fusion at initial surgery in 37.1% of cases; however, 3 more patients required secondary fusion at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our series corroborates the prior literature with a low incidence of synovial cysts in the cervical spine and none in the thoracic spine. The present work shows the efficacy of minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of these lesions. Synovial cysts were associated with instability, ultimately requiring fusion in the majority of patients. The authors' study includes a large patient series with minimally invasive microsurgical decompression performed through a tubular retractor to date. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.
