ABSTRACT

To document surgical techniques in a virtual environment in a variety of scenarios, considering their applications and consequences, and to determine the usefulness of computerassisted osteotomy planning for spinal deformities.

Computer-assisted surgical planning of sagittal plane deformity corrections allows operative maneuvers to be simulated on a computer to develop insight before application in the operating room. Image-guided surgical planning of deformity correction improves the surgical accuracy and can help to translate a virtual surgical plan into a real operation.

We used the Surgimap Spine program to determine the optimal corrective osteotomy for sagittal plane deformity for 11 patients. The program guided us through planning the osteotomy level, the osteotomy number, and osteotomy type (whether Smith-Petersen osteotomy (SPO), pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO), or both combined).

After virtual osteotomy, the surgical plan was translated into a real plan in the operating room, and osteotomy including instrumentation was performed safely in all cases, resulting in the anticipated results with statistical significance (p>0.01).

We advocate the application of virtual surgical planning to improve safety and efficiency in complex spinal deformity corrections.