How intraoperative navigation is changing musculoskeletal tumor surgery

Computer-assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS) was introduced, developed, and implemented in musculoskeletal tumor surgery recently to enhance surgical precision in resecting malignant and benign tumors. The origins of computer-assisted surgery were in other subspecialties including maxillofacial surgery, spine surgery, and arthroplasty. Early studies have shown that CAOS can also be used safely for bone tumor resection surgery. Additional technological improvements may allow use of CAOS in soft tissue tumor surgery. It has the potential to improve surgical precision and accuracy, but more study is needed to evaluate clinical efficacy and long term results.