In the last year, Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University successfully completed two first-of-their-kind procedures for patients in the U.S.
1. In September, Dennis Crawford, MD, PhD, professor of orthopedics at OHSU, successfully performed the first patella lift procedure in the U.S. as part of the FDA's Pelican clinic trial. The procedure, which was approved by the FDA in February, is expected to be available at nine additional sites in the U.S. as part of the trial.
2. In December, the team performed OHSU's first awake spinal surgery, led by Josiah Orina, MD, associate professor of neurological surgery, and Kevin Blaine, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology. While awake spinal surgery is growing in popularity, few systems have yet to perform the procedure.