Dr. Robert Hes works as a neurosurgeon in the spine department at a general hospital in Antwerp, Belgium. He works extensively on degenerative lumbar pathologies. In older patients, Dr. Hes often identifies spinal stenosis, degenerative scoliosis, and related issues.
Dr. Hes began to use the TOPS™ System in 2005, implementing the device for a few cases with a single level. However, his team soon gained access to the hybrid Versalink™ System for patients with severe stenosis, typically in the L3-L4 or L4-L5 spinal segments.
To evaluate the treatment’s long-term success, Dr. Hes gives his patients score forms before the procedure, keeping them until five to seven years after the surgery. He has found that with the TOPS™ and Versalink™ Systems, his patients’ satisfaction and clinical situations have remained very stable, with rapid symptom resolution after the procedure.
Dr. Robert Hes on The TOPS™ Hybrid Solution Long-Term Follow-Up
Dr. Robert Hes reported the results of the TOPS™ Hybrid Solution at 5-years follow-up.
Though Dr. Hes was initially concerned about the possibility of screw loosening, the TOPS™ System has a screw loosening rate of less than 0.2% worldwide. TOPS™’ patented screw surface treatment is largely responsible for this low rate.
Dr. Hes and his team studied the differences between TOPS™ and the Dynesys device, finding that the TOPS™ System was superior in its ability to withstand the forces on the screws.
The TOPS™ System also provides a near-normal motion in flexion, extension, and lateral bending. Near-normal motion protects the adjacent spinal levels against degeneration.
Dr. Hes and his team conducted a study of the TOPS™ System with 15 patients aged between 46 and 72. These patients experienced sustained improvement in back pain, leg pain, and mobility, with no screw loosening or adjacent segment issues.
