Lumbar Neuroforaminal Decompression with a Flexible Microblade Shaver System: Results of a Cadaveric Study.

Background The lumbar neural foraminal stenosis still is a challenging condition in minimally invasive spine surgery. Because of the anatomic situation a complete decompression of the nerve root often leads to a subtotal facetectomy associated with potential instability and the need for additional instrumentation of the decompressed segment. The iO-Flex system was introduced to address this problem by using a minimally invasive wire-guided microblade shaver to increase the neuroforaminal space by reducing the stenosis from intraforaminal while sparing bigger parts of the facet joint. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility and the surgical and radiological success in relation to the experience of the surgeon. Methods We performed decompression of the neuroforamen in 10 lumbar levels of 2 fresh-frozen human cadavers. Before and after decompression, we obtained high-resolution computed tomography data to evaluate the diameter of the neural foramen. Results The mean foraminal width (7.88–10.94 mm, P 2 , P 2 , P P Conclusions The flexible micro blade shaver system is feasible with a steep learning curve and achieves sufficient decompression of the neuroforamen in this cadaveric study.