Economic Considerations for Navigation in Spine Surgery

Current technology for pedicle screw placement includes stealth navigation, robotic technology, and patient-specific three-dimensional guides. This chapter reviews the current costs of navigation technology as of 2023. The costs and benefits to the hospital, the surgeon, and the patient are then explored. Navigation has far-reaching implications that can be difficult to quantify the costs of: impacting surgical time, reoperation rates for malpositioned screws, patient length of stay, opioid requirements, and radiation to the patient and surgeon.