NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUVA), the leader in spine technology innovation, focused on transforming spine surgery with minimally disruptive, procedurally integrated solutions, today announced the U.S. commercial launch of Brigade® Lateral, the industry’s first interbody implant and instrumentation optimized for lateral anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) spine surgery.
NuVasive’s Lateral ALIF™ is a proprietary spine procedure enabling access to L5-S1 from a lateral position, while retaining the characteristics of a traditional ALIF. Brigade Lateral features improved instrumentation, a new insertion method and an expanded lordotic implant offering, all optimized for improved workflow and outcomes through the Lateral ALIF procedure. The technology’s threaded in-line inserter is angled off the midline and positioned on the lateral edge of the implant to better access the L5-S1 spine levels, which have typically been very difficult to treat effectively. The instrumentation is designed to offer surgeons a low-profile and reproducible insertion method, enhancing the overall surgical workflow in the operating room (OR). With a variety of lordotic implant options, Brigade Lateral allows surgeons to customize lordosis based on a patient’s need which is important to preserving and restoring spinal alignment.
“The NuVasive Lateral ALIF procedure, coupled with the Brigade Lateral implant and instrumentation specifically designed for this approach, is a game changer for me and my patients,” said Dr. Michael Cluck, orthopedic surgeon at Bay Area Spine Care in San Jose, California. “When used with minimally invasive surgical techniques, Lateral ALIF allows surgeons to complete a standard ALIF and posterior fixation from one position for both single-level and, more importantly, multi-level lumbar spinal fusions.”
Lateral ALIF is integrated into NuVasive’s lateral single-position surgery platform which is intended to increase OR efficiency by reducing the need for patient repositioning which may result in a patient being under anesthesia for a decreased amount of time.
“NuVasive pioneered the lateral approach in spine surgery, and continues to lead the industry with disruptive procedural solutions that maximize the efficiency of these less invasive techniques while retaining the inherent benefits to surgeons, patients and hospitals,” said Matt Link, president, Strategy, Technology and Corporate Development for NuVasive. “Brigade Lateral is no exception, and extends our comprehensive procedural offering to a wider range of indications from the lateral approach.”
