Medtronic launches new lower lumbar spine access technique

Medtronic has announced the launch of the first surgical procedure that allows lateral access to all levels of the lower lumbar spine.

Unveiled at the annual meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in San Francisco, the OLIF51 Procedure is an innovative solution that enables reproducible lateral access to the L5-S1 disc space, which is the most common operative level of the spine.

It means that surgeons will now have a combination of procedures available to them that offer an extensile approach to all levels of the lower lumbar spine, eliminating the need to reposition the patient during surgery.

OLIF51 also incorporates Medtronic's comprehensive surgical platform of access, interbody, neuromonitoring, navigation, fixation and biologic options.

Doug King, senior vice-president and president for Medtronic's spine division, said: "With the launch of the OLIF51 Procedure, Medtronic has aligned with expressed needs from the global surgeon community for procedures that require less muscle disruption and enable greater intraoperative efficiencies."

This follows the European launch of Compact Cornerstone-SR Alliance, a new cervical cage for use in the treatment of disc diseases, earlier this month.