In Manhasset, new technology improves minimally invasive spinal surgery

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In Manhasset, doctors in Northwell Health are using the Teligen Spine Surgical System, a technology that helps complex spine surgeons better see the spine during advanced or minimally invasive spinal surgeries.

Dr. Daniel Sciubba, senior vice president of neurosurgery at Northwell, performed the first surgery using the system on Dec. 3 at North Shore University Hospital on a 65-year-old woman with a spinal tumor.

“In the past, the issue with taking out a spinal tumor in one piece was that it was hard to see all the cuts to make from one approach, so it had to be done in multiple stages,” Sciubba said in a news release about the surgical system. “Teligen uses a mobile camera, so we can look around corners within the surgical site.”

The Teligen system was developed by DePuy Synthes, The Orthopaedics Company of Johnson & Johnson. It consists of a tower with a 4K high-definition screen monitor and a tiny disposable camera that is attached to a flexible wire and inserted into the surgical site of the patient. The surgeon can manipulate the camera in all directions and has a direct line of sight to the camera images in real-time on the screen.

With the camera’s self-cleaning mechanism, which Northwell said is similar to a windshield washer, clarifies visualization should the image get blurry during surgery.

The system can be used for spine tumor resection as well as for more minimally invasive spinal procedures, such as spinal decompression, discectomy and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion surgeries.

“Northwell’s investment in technologies such as Teligen enables us to take on the most complex spinal surgeries and do them in ways that are innovative and pioneering,” Sciubba said. “We can do these surgeries in less time, with smaller incisions and less damage to surrounding normal tissues. It allows us to treat patients more safely and efficaciously.”

Teligen received FDA clearance in October 2022.