The future of sacroiliac joint fusion

The popularity of minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusions has surged the past few years.

Here is how the procedure is evolving:  

Increase in minimally invasive procedures

From 2015 to 2020, there was an increase in the number of minimally invasive SI joint fusions, according to a study in Spine. Of the SI joint fusions done in 2015, 62% were minimally invasive, compared to 86.6% in 2020.

New technologies and innovations

SAIL Fusion recently earned FDA clearance for its BowTie sacroiliac joint fusion system. It is the first SI fusion technology based on validated joint fusion principles set by the AO Foundation.

Captiva Spine unveiled its TransFasten-LSF sacroiliac joint fusion system for minimally invasive procedures in April. It is designed to be used in the outpatient setting. 

In February, Nevro earned FDA 510(k) clearance to use its sacroiliac joint fixation system without having to include a lateral screw.

Milestones 

The first sacroiliac joint fusion in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., region was performed in April by Raj Sureja, MD, an interventional pain management specialist at Orthopaedic & Spine Center in Newport News, Va., using the PainTEQ LinQ SI Joint Stabilization System.