{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T06:40:47Z","timestamp":1778740847288,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,22]],"date-time":"2025-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755820800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Robot-assisted surgery has been increasingly applied in spinal surgery in recent years, but the differences in efficacy compared to conventional free-hand surgery remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate the impact of these two surgical approaches on spinal surgery patients by analyzing baseline characteristics, surgical data, short-term postoperative outcomes, and long-term functional recovery and pain relief.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study first analyzed the differences in baseline characteristics and surgical data between the robot-assisted and conventional free-hand surgery groups, including age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Multivariate logistic regression was then used to explore the effects of baseline characteristics and surgical methods on short-term postoperative outcomes, such as complications, reoperations, fracture healing, and spinal alignment recovery. Finally, generalized estimating equations (GEE) were employed to assess the impact of surgical methods on long-term postoperative outcomes, including Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and pain scores.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of postoperative complications and reoperation, while robot-assisted surgery significantly reduced the incidence of complications and reoperation. In terms of spinal structural recovery after surgery, the robot-assisted surgery group showed better results. Long-term follow-up revealed that robot-assisted surgery significantly reduced ODI and pain scores, and over time, the robot-assisted group consistently demonstrated superior functional recovery and pain relief compared to the conventional surgery group.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Robot-assisted surgery showed significant advantages in both short-term postoperative recovery and long-term functional improvement and pain relief. It outperformed conventional free-hand surgery in reducing complication rates, accelerating postoperative recovery, lowering reoperation rates, and promoting fracture healing and spinal alignment recovery.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2025.1517470","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,22]],"date-time":"2025-08-22T05:28:14Z","timestamp":1755840494000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Clinical outcomes of robot-assisted vs. conventional free-hand technique in spine 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