Swedish medtech firm OrtoWay AB says its OrtoWell Distractor instrument for spinal surgery can now be used by surgeons for spinal trauma care or tumor removal.

Watch the video below to learn how the OrtoWell Distractor works:




Following tests on animals and cadavers, it was shown that the device may offer time-saving possibilities for surgeons, giving them freer access and resulting in more accurate implant positioning. The instrument fixates the vertebra in a unique way which allows safer and less complicated insertion of implants and can be used with any prosthesis.

Already approved in Europe (CE Mark) and the United States (a Class 1 medical device), the OrtoWell Distractor is a hydraulically powered system that separates and holds apart vertebral bodies in the spinal column during anterior surgery. It consists of some non-disposable parts (distractor unit, spanner unit, retractors and frame, tools) as well as disposable components (tube unit, gauge, hooks, bone screws). The use of gentle, yet powerful incremental hydraulic force to prevent the vertebrae from collapsing or moving during operations is beneficial to surgeons since it facilitates correct positioning of spinal prosthesis such as disc implants, anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) cages and during corpectomies.

The technology, mainly intended for disc prosthesis and ALIF cages, can also be used during spinal tumor surgeries or trauma where the removal of vertebra is clinically required. This is made possible through a solution that allows for longer space when inserting hydraulic implants during such surgery.

“The availability of this solution makes access during reconstructive process much easier and allows for more accurate positioning of such prosthesis,” said Dr. Staffan Bowald of the Spine Center in Stockholm, Sweden. He is one of the inventors of this technology.

“This new development is in line with our goal of making anterior-approach surgeries simpler and more accurate, which has the potential to enable better outcomes of such procedures,” added Stan Mikulowski, CEO of OrtoWay AB.

OrtoWay AB was founded in 2006 by a group of experts in biomaterials, spinal surgery and medical technology intent on improving anterior surgery and implantation of spinal prosthesis in the lumbar region. The OrtoWell Distractor is available through OrtoWay LLC, an independent company based near Philadelphia, Pa. OrtoWay has received patents for its invention in Europe, the United States, and Australia.