05/29/2026
https://ryortho.com/2026/05/amplify-surgical-and-emory-healthcare-complete-worlds-first-continuously-navigated-endoscopic-tlif-using-dualportal-dualx-platform/
Orthopedics This Week
The Spine Surgery “Avengers” Just Assembled in Atlanta
Somewhere in Atlanta, a lumbar disc probably realized it had absolutely no chance.
At Emory Healthcare, Daniel Refai and team completed what is believed to be the world’s first continuously navigated endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) — a sentence so packed with buzzwords it practically qualifies for CME credit by itself.
But beneath the alphabet soup is something genuinely important for spine surgeons: This may represent the next evolution of minimally invasive lumbar fusion.
The Procedure: Endoscopic TLIF Meets “Eyes-On” Navigation
Traditionally, navigation in spine surgery tends to appear for key moments: Plan the incision, place the screws, maybe verify the cage, then everyone moves on with life.
This case was different.
Navigation reportedly stayed active through the entire operation: Incision planning, decompression, interbody prep, cage placement, and pedicle screw fixation.
Think less “GPS when you need directions” and more “Google Maps glued to your windshield for the whole road trip.”
The workflow combined: Amplify Surgical, Inc.’s dualPortal® and dualX® systems, Stryker (now VB spine) navigation and endoscopy, and spine instrumentation.
In spine surgery terms, this was basically: “What if we connected everything?”
Spine Surgery Is Becoming an Ecosystem
This wasn’t just a cool case report. It’s another sign that spine surgery is rapidly evolving from standalone implants to fully integrated digital surgical ecosystems.
The modern spine OR increasingly looks like navigation, robotics, endoscopy, powered instrumentation, AI-assisted planning, expandable implants, real-time imaging, and at least one rep silently updating software in the corner.
If this trend continues, future fellows may someday ask: “Wait…you used to place screws without continuous navigation?”
Much like today’s residents react to stories about paper charts and hand-written op notes.
Also, Less Radiation and More
Beyond...
