The Problem State

Impact of inconsistent patient positioning in spine surgery, 2024 Update

Spine surgery teams may have more problems from how patients are positioned on an operating table than they do from the surgery itself. The traditional approach (1960's) to patient positioning use pillows, towels, and tape to position an anesthetized patient. This practice is time-intensive and adds the potential risk of skin damage along with nerve injury and visual loss. This traditional approach also yields inconsistent results, as pillows and towels can shift over time during surgery that can add risk to the patient.

In this video, Dr. Schopler describes the risks associated with inconsistent patient positioning in spine surgery.

A Consistent and Repeatable Positioning Approach for Anterior Cervical Procedures

Recognizing that positioning the patient using makeshift tape and towels was time consuming and lacked consistency several Spine Surgeons wanted a better way. These surgeons, together with BoneFoam, developed the Anterior Cervical Spine System.

The BoneFoam Anterior Cervical Positioning System is a comprehensive spine positioning solution that optimizes cervical spine positioning for anterior procedures while providing a safe and stable operative surface that eliminates the need for unreliable time-consuming positioning with tape and towels.

Steven A. Schopler, MD

Dr. Schopler has been an active spine surgeon in the Southern California Orthopedic Institute since 1986. He has presented research on minimally invasive spinal surgery in the US, China, and Europe. He holds patents on spinal implants for lateral access spine surgery. Dr. Schopler has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering and received his MD from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.

Download the paper:

For a more detailed review of spine positioning challenges and how to address them.

Optimize cervical spine positioning

A consistent and repeatable approach that improves lower cervical spine visualization.

View Solution

In the following educational videos, Dr. Schopler, discusses patient positioning for spine surgery as it relates to surgical site visualization, patient safety, and OR efficiency and the benefits the ACDF positioning with the BoneFoam Anterior Cervical Positioning System.

Dr. Schopler discusses how you can achieve an extra level of cervical visualization with the BoneFoam Anterior Cervical Positioning System and other important benefits of the system.

Learn how Dr. Schopler improves OR efficiency by using BoneFoam’s spine positioning systems that help eliminate the time spent assembling random positioning supplies.

Dr. Schopler shares how he achieves effective radiolucency with BoneFoam’s spine positioning systems for minimally invasive and open spine surgeries.

Dr. Schopler explains how he protects the patient from skin-related injuries with the use of BoneFoam’s non-adhesive straps for depressing the shoulder girdle.

Learn how Dr. Schopler can stabilize the patient’s torso and allow for movement of the extremities for effective neuromonitoring with BoneFoam’s spine positioning systems.