NASS 23, Toronto, October 2008
 

It gives me great pleasure to post from Toronto after the first day of the North American Spine Society's 23rd annual meeting. This is the largest spine congress there is and it is always VERY interesting.

The evening event I attended tonight was for a new cervical fusion system by a new company, Centinel Spine. Centinel Spine is the result of a merger of Raymedica (pioneers in nucleus arthroplasty) and Surgicraft (innovative company responsible for the excellent lumbar fusion system, STALIF (stand alone lumbar interbody fusion, peek cage system with screws for anterior fixation without additional instrumentation. I have many clients with STALIF as part of a hybrid construct.) The cervical system looks like a substantial improvement of what's out there and they already have FDA approval. Great news for those who will need cervical fusion... anterior plates no longer needed. Unfortunately, this system is still brand new and will take some time before it's widely available.

http://www.globalpatientnetwork.com/blog/0810-nass23

More soon.

All the best,

Mark

Nass 23
 

Mark,
So glad to hear you're feeling better enough to be there!

How many levels would this be appropriate for? Without the anterior plates would this possibly prevent the event of vocal cord type of numbness/problems that are sometimes experienced by patients or that created by surgical technique?

take good care of yourself and rest your neck/back as needed;)