Doctor performs first awake spine fusion surgery at Vail Health (Vail Daily)
Dr. Ernest Braxton, a neurosurgeon at Vail-Summit Orthopaedics & Neurosurgery, introduced a breakthrough procedure at Vail Health by completing a successful spine surgery with his patient awake.
The surgery, a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, took approximately two hours, during which the patient was awake, alert, comfortable and able to watch video on an iPad. This new minimally invasive technique should lead to quicker recovery times and offer several additional benefits to the patient.
“I’m excited to in...
