Delicate operation: Professor Greg Malham used the CIRQ spinal robot for precision during Shauna Miller’s operation.
Nerring farmer Shauna Miller lived on painkillers as a debilitating back condition trapped her at home, unable to continue to help out on the family farm.
Her husband Warren was also recovering from a broken back suffered in a motorcycle accident and the tight-knit community rallied to help plant a crop.
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Mr Miller’s injuries eventually healed, but Mrs Miller’s back was getting worse despite a range of treatments and minor interventions.
“There was a lot of pain. I was living on painkillers, I’d done everything but I couldn’t really work, I couldn’t drive the tractor or do any work on the farm,” Mrs Miller said.
“I would get up because the pain woke me up. I was pretty much restricted to the house.”
Mrs Miller wanted to get back to farming but couldn’t see how.
“We are both very passionate about the farm, it’s our life,” she said.
Family: Shauna Miller with husband Warren and son Rex on the family farm at Nerring.
Mrs Miller was referred to spinal surgeon Professor Greg Malham at the Epworth hospital in Richmond and he proposed an Australian first, using a CIRQ spinal robot to guide invasive surgery.
“The CIRQ robot is a new innovation to help patients,” Prof Malham said.
“We can do minimally invasive surgery safer, faster and more accurately, which certainly reduces stress for the surgeon.
“The minimally invasive surgery means less time in hospital and a faster recovery for the patient “
Surgeons decompressed a nerve, took out a cyst and fused two vertebrae with the assistance of the robot, which acts as a guidance arm for the surgeon.
“The surgeon still does the operation, helped by computer-guided navigation, which guides the surgeon to the right spot with millimetre accuracy and locks the robot arm in place,” Prof Malham said.
“The robot is then used as a guide to make the correct incision and decompress a nerve safely.”
The results were immediate.
Mrs Miller woke from the surgery pain free and couldn’t resist wiggling her legs despite the surgeon’s instructions to lie still.
In the months since the surgery, she has remained pain-free and intensive physio has her movement steadily improving.
“At the time I wasn’t aware how unique the surgery was. I didn’t really care how they were going to do it, I just wanted it fixed,” Mrs Miller said.
“I had put up with years of pain and suffering. I had exhausted all other options. It gives hope to a lot of people.”
Epworth executive general manager Allison Evans said the hospital had pioneered the use of robotic surgery for almost 20 years.
“Epworth was the first hospital group in Australia to use a robot in prostate surgery,” Ms Evans said.
“Robots are now commonly used in prostate and orthopaedic surgery and the introduction of the first CIRQ spinal robot in Australia will help even more patients.”
Mrs Miller hopes to return to full-time farm duties soon.
