Proceedings of papers presented at the RBRS Annual Symposium, Brussels, 19.11.2011

When dealing with chronic low back pain refractory to medical treatments (LBPR), spine stabilization can be a very effective option. This surgical strategy requires most of the time implantation of pedicle screws (1, 5) which can be performed through either a large open posterior approach, or tubular approaches (minimal open) or even percutaneously (minimally invasive percutaneous) (2, 3, 6). A precise placement of these screws is paramount in particular to avoid any additional nerve root lesion. Working percutaneously reduces the aggression on the patient’s muscular system but increases the difficulty of being intrapedicular. Percutaneous surgery requires improved intraoperative imaging quality control. Our use of 'percutaneously placed pedicle screws (PPS), 'led us to test different intraoperative imaging systems reaching a climax of efficiency with the robotic multi-axis 2D/3D fluoroscopy Artis Zeego of Siemens. We report our experience using this system for PPS placement in the treatment of LBPR.