Carlsbad, California-based SeaSpine Holdings Corporation, has announced the limited commercial launch of its Explorer™ TO expandable lumbar interbody device.
Limited Launch of SeaSpine’s Latest Expandable Interbody
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The device offers expansion options for both height and lordosis restoration. The Explorer TO is the fifth product the company has launched in 2020, following the June launches of the NorthStar™ OCT, Cervical Facet Fusion™, and Mariner MIS and Outrigger fixation systems. It is also the first interbody system that the company has launched since 2017. Past limited launches were followed by a full release within a year.
Azam Basheer, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, described the new device’s flexibility, “This new expandable design not only provides me with the clinical options to achieve my goals as a surgeon but gives me one instrumentation system for two different styles of implants. This doubles the number of options I have in the OR without doubling the number of instruments required.”
The system is indicated for 1-2 contiguous levels of fusion from L2-S1 in a posterior approach. It can provide up to 16mm in height restoration with both parallel and lordotic options. A company representative confirmed that Explorer TO was cleared by the FDA in March 2020 as Skipjack, which was the name used during the alpha launch phase.
Benjamin Chen, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital spoke highly of the system, “Explorer TO is impressive. Having an expandable cage allowed me to address a narrow opening. However, I was able to achieve my decompression goals for what would normally have needed a larger implant. Explorer TO’s instrumentation is streamlined and intuitive.” He also appreciated the ability to pack graft through the inserter.
SeaSpine Senior Vice President of Global Spine Systems Dennis Cirino believes that Explorer TO will give SeaSpine a competitive edge in the market. “Its thoughtful design is intended to improve surgical outcomes and capture economic efficiencies… The benefit of gaining greater access to this growing market segment provides SeaSpine and its expanding distribution channel a new opportunity to compete and grow with industry leading technology.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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