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New Surgical Navigation System Gives Back Pain Patient Hope
The O-arm is a new component of the StealthStation surgical
navigation system at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, one
of only four hospitals in southeastern Michigan who are using
this new technology for back and brain surgeries.
Detroit, June 23, 2014 – A new surgical
navigational system for brain and back surgery,
called the O-arm Surgical Imaging System, is
creating better outcomes for patients at DMC
Sinai-Grace Hospital who need surgeries for the
spine. The O-arm, the newest component of the
StealthStation Navigation System, is ideal for
use in spine, orthopaedic, and trauma-related
surgeries. It provides real-time, intra-operative
imaging of a patient's anatomy with high quality
images and a large field-of-view in both two
and three dimensions.
“The O-arm allows for more accurate placement
of spinal
instrumentation
from the cervical
region to the
lumbosacral
region, using
much less
radiation during
“O-arm” 360 degree 3-D flouroscopy allow neurosurgeon
the surgery, and
Dr. Robert R. Johnson, and his surgical team,
making it safer
pinpoint precision for his patient’s incisions and spinal
for the patient and
screw placement during a spinal fusion.
the staff,” noted
Dr. Robert R. Johnson, chief of neurosurgery at Sinai-Grace Hospital.
“The O-arm will also decrease the operating times and decrease the
amount of tissue exposure needed to place the instrumentation, which
Always There.
DMC Sinai-Grace neurosurgeon
Dr. Robert R. Johnson explains how
the 360 degree 3-D imaging from the
O-arm allows pinpoint precision, making
screw placement exact.
New Surgical Navigation System Gives Back Pain Patient Hope, Page 2
will lead to less time under anesthesia, less post-operative pain, and less blood loss decreasing the
patient’s hospital stay,” Dr. Johnson explained.
Fifty-six year old Cindy Wlosinski of Waterford, Mich., said she was turned away by three other
neurosurgeons for treatment of spindylosis (spinal arthritis) and stenosis
before being referred to Dr. Johnson. Wlosinski is a hospice nurse, but
has been unable to work since March 2013 due to symptoms that
included weakness, pain and numbing in her back and down into her
legs. She was one of the first patients at Sinai-Grace Hospital to have
access to the O-arm’s technology in June for a spinal fusion.
Cindy Wlosinski of Waterford, MI,
prior to going into surgery at
DMC Sinai-Grace.
“I would like to go back to work… I can’t go to the store right now. I
can barely do the stairs. I don’t cook. It’s a very boring life. I’m hoping
with this [surgery] I can get back to doing family things,” commented
Wlosinski just prior to going into the operating room at Sinai-Grace.
In addition to pinpoint incisions, the O-arm cuts radiation exposure by one-third compared to the older
technology – the C-arm – which makes it safer for the patient and the surgical staff. Sinai-Grace is the
first DMC hospital to offer the combination of the O-arm surgical imaging technology with the
StealthStation surgical navigation systems, and only one of four hospitals in southeast Michigan with this
advanced surgical technology.
About DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital
Located in Northwest Detroit, DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital is a full-service hospital with 404 licensed beds
and nearly 800 physicians, 700 nurses, and over 1500 other health care professionals. Services and
capabilities include cardiology, emergency medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, urological services,
psychiatry, radiation oncology, physical medicine, and orthopaedic surgery. DMC Sinai-Grace operates
more than 15 ambulatory sites and surgery centers, including the Berry Surgery Center. With more than
214,000 patients annually, DMC Sinai-Grace serves as a teaching facility to more than 200 medical
students each year. DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital is one of eight hospitals operated by the Detroit Medical
Center (DMC). The DMC is proud to be the Official Healthcare Services Provider of the Detroit Tigers,
Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons.
For more information visit www.sinaigrace.org, "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sinaigrace, follow
us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/dmc_sinaigrace or check out our YouTube page at
www.youtube.com/SinaiGraceToday.
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