Effects of tracer position on screw placement technique in robot-assisted posterior spine surgery: a case–control study

Introduction Robot-assisted spine surgery is increasingly used in clinical work, and the installation of tracers as a key step in robotic surgery has rarely been studied. Objective To explore the potential effects of tracers on surgical outcomes in robot-assisted posterior spine surgery. Methods We reviewed all patients who underwent robotic-assisted posterior spine surgery at Beijing Shijitan Hospital over a 2-year period from September 2020 to September 2022. Patients were divided into two groups based on the location of the tracer (iliac spine or vertebral spinous process) during robotic surgery and a case–control study was conducted to determine the potential impact of tracer location on the surgical procedure. Data analysis was performed using SPSS.25 statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois). Results A total of 525 pedicle screws placed in 92 robot-assisted surgeries were analyzed. The rate of perfect screw positioning was 94.9% in all patients who underwent robot-assisted spine surgery (498/525). After grouping studies based on the location of tracers, we found there was no significant difference in age, sex, height and body weight between the two groups. The screw accuracy ( p < 0.01)was significantly higher in the spinous process group compared to the iliac group (97.5% versus 92.6%), but the operation time ( p = 0.09) was longer in comparison. Conclusion Placing the tracer on the spinous process as opposed to the iliac spine may result in longer procedure duration or increased bleeding, but enhanced satisfaction of screw placement.