San Diego, California-based NuVasive, Inc. has announced the U.S. commercial launch of an interbody implant and instrumentation which is optimized for lateral anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) spine surgery.
According to NuVasive, this is the first ever.
Accessing L5-S1 from a lateral position for the purposes of performing a traditional ALIF is novel. According to NuVasive, their new Brigade system provides surgeons with instrumentation, insertion methods and expanded lordotic implant options which will not only improve workflow but also potentially improve outcomes when the surgeon would like to do a lateral approach for ALIF.
In short, the Brigade system is optimized for lateral ALIF.
And how is this accomplished? “The technology’s threaded in-line inserter is angled off the midline and positioned on the lateral edge of the implant to better access the L5-S1 spine levels, which have typically been very difficult to treat effectively. The instrumentation is designed to offer surgeons a low-profile and reproducible insertion method, enhancing the overall surgical workflow in the operating room (OR). With a variety of lordotic implant options, Brigade Lateral allows surgeons to customize lordosis based on a patient’s need which is important to preserving and restoring spinal alignment.”
“Lateral ALIF is integrated into NuVasive’s lateral single-position surgery platform which is intended to increase OR efficiency by reducing the need for patient repositioning which may result in a patient being under anesthesia for a decreased amount of time.”
Dr. Michael Cluck, an orthopedic surgeon at Bay Area Spine Care in San Jose, said, “The NuVasive Lateral ALIF procedure, coupled with the Brigade Lateral implant and instrumentation specifically designed for this approach, is a game changer for me and my patients.”
“When used with minimally invasive surgical techniques, Lateral ALIF allows surgeons to complete a standard ALIF and posterior fixation from one position for both single-level and, more importantly, multi-level lumbar spinal fusions.”
Matt Link, president, Strategy, Technology and Corporate Development for NuVasive,told OTW, “The development of Brigade Lateral was driven by NuVasive’s extensive leadership in lateral single-position surgery and our ability to innovate quickly in response to clinical needs. We optimized Brigade Lateral’s instruments and inserters to better access the spinal exposure surgeons have when placing an implant with the Lateral ALIF approach. We also developed more incremental implant lordosis options allowing surgeons to choose optimal lordosis based on a patient’s need—a critical element in preserving and restoring sagittal alignment.”
