Holy Cross Medical Group interventional spine and pain medicine specialists William Porter McRoberts, M.D., and Paul W. Wu, M.D., are among the first in the nation to perform the minimally invasive Totalis™ Direct Decompression procedure to treat lumbar spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal passageways in the lower back, which is the leading cause of spinal surgery in the elderly.
Cleared by the FDA in November 2012 and first performed at the Napa Surgery Center in March of this year and at Holy Cross Hospital in August, VertiFlex Inc.’s Totalis Direct Decompression System can be performed under local anesthesia. The procedure involves a small single midline incision and sequential dilation to a working cannula, or tube, about the size of a dime. Specialty instruments designed for precision and safety enable physicians to remove ligament, bone, and facet capsule material that are squeezing the spinal cord.
“The Totalis procedure removes more tissue while leaving the structural elements of the spine intact and may have higher clinical success,” said Dr. McRoberts, who with Dr. Wu received specialized training in the procedure. “In addition to faster recovery times than more invasive forms of surgery, we have had some excellent and inspiring success with patients reporting greater relief from pain.”
