Mount Sinai Surgeons Perform First Surgery in New York City Using FDA-Approved Spinal Tethering Device

(New York, NY – January 27, 2020) – Mount Sinai surgeons have performed the first-ever spinal tethering surgery in New York City to correct idiopathic scoliosis—a sideways curvature in the spine—in children and adolescents. The procedure performed by Baron S. Lonner, MD, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, and Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Chief of Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Surgery, Mount Sinai Health System, uses the latest technology that was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The procedure, a minimally invasive approach known as vertebral body tethering scoliosis surgery, uses a tethering device that was approved by the FDA in August 2019. Dr. Lonner led in the research and development of the procedure, the first of its kind approved by the FDA for non-fusion scoliosis correction.

“As patients become increasingly interested in non-fusion surgical options for treating scoliosis when a back brace has not been effective, vertebral body tethering is an alternative that preserves motion and flexibility—especially in younger patients as they continue to grow,” says Dr. Lonner. “This option using the FDA-approved device may increase the chances for better long-term outcomes among patients seeking to correct their severe spinal deformity, and continues Mount Sinai’s commitment to using the latest in innovative technology to provide our patients with exceptional care.”

The Tether™- Vertebral Body Tethering System comprises a set of screws and anchors along a flexible cord that is attached to the spinal column to correct the curvature. As an alternative to spinal fusion surgery, the device allows motion in the operated segments of the spine. The technique is a revolutionary change to what has previously been the gold standard of care, a spinal fusion, which eliminates motion in the corrected spine and places greater stresses on adjacent unoperated portions of the spine.

Patients may resume activities including bending, lifting, and twisting, as soon as six weeks following tethering, and can pursue the highest level of athletics, dance, and gymnastics virtually unimpeded, while recovery following a spinal fusion could take 12 weeks and may result in limitations in some activities.

To watch a video of this procedure click here.

The first patients to receive this procedure with the FDA-approved spinal tethering device are available for interview.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Medical Schools”, aligned with a U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally.

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