By Payam Moazzaz, MD Orthopaedic Surgeon Tri-City Medical Center

Eighty percent of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their life – that is an epidemic! A lot of my patients have very serious spine conditions and conventional methods such as physical therapy and prescription medication doesn’t work for them. They need a permanent solution to their problem, but spine surgery was always considered to be a last resort.

In 2012, I was introduced to a new technology – the Mazor Robotics Renaissance(r) Guidance System. Since then, I have performed over 400 spine surgery cases with the system and I am still excited about it and what it does for my patients. With the robot, I know I am giving my patients the best care. In many cases, my patients are up and walking the very same day after surgery, and they are going home the next morning.

How does the Renaissance system help? First, I upload a basic CT scan of the patient’s spine into the system’s 3D planning software and can see exactly what I need to do before I even enter the OR. I plan everything out ahead of time, so now I feel more confident taking on difficult cases – even patients with really complex conditions deserve the best care!

After I plan everything out and I am in the OR, the robot will help me place implants in the patient’s spine with 99% accuracy and it is consistent across the board in all types of procedures. Since I know the robot will be accurate, I can then focus on overall treatment of the condition to ensure this is the best possible option for my patient.

I truly believe in this technology – mostly because I have seen first-hand how it benefits my patients. This is the best advancement in surgery that I have seen – the future is here!

So, if you are considering back surgery because nothing else has worked for you, check out the Mazor Robotics information on tricitymed.org.

Dr. Moazzaz has been a practicing spine surgeon for over ten years. He began his career with an internship and residency at the University of California in Los Angeles, followed by a spine fellowship at the San Diego Center for Spinal Disorders and Scripps Green Clinic and began operating at Tri-City Medical Center shortly after.