Jefferson Health is using new 3D technology for patients who need spinal fusion surgery. This new high-tech back surgery is used to create personalized spinal implants, and for a Chester County mother, it was life-changing.
Climbing stairs used to be impossible for 37-year-old Renee Schreiner.
“I felt a shooting pain in my back and lower back,” Schreiner said. “I couldn’t speak and I was crying. It was unbearable.”
Imaging revealed that she had an old stress fracture that caused her spine to become misaligned. The treatment was spinal fusion.
Dr. Srinivas Prasad of Jefferson Health performed her surgery. He was the first neurosurgeon in Philadelphia to use innovative equipment in spinal surgery.
He uses a custom-made spinal implant made with a 3D printer.
“It’s contoured. It’s printed to fit specifically to the patient,” Prasad says. “So it’s more like a made-to-measure shirt or a made-to-measure suit, as opposed to off-the-shelf.”
The spacers he currently uses are custom-made for each patient. It is designed based on the patient’s pre-surgical cat scan and is molded to precisely fit the spine.
“So when you put it in, it fits like a glove,” Prasad said. “In other words, they allow us to achieve the goals of the surgery more effectively.”
The Exton mother-of-two, who underwent surgery six months ago, says she has her life back.
“I’m so excited. I feel better than ever. And even the nagging back pain is gone. I don’t have any pain,” Schreiner said.
And she returned to working out and lifting weights. Schreiner, a former gymnast, had to rest for six weeks after the surgery, but she is now doing well and is back to enjoying roller coasters with her children.
Stephanie Stahl
