The y-wire is a very simple innovation developed by a physician's assistant in Florida that I think will have a significant impact on the widespread adoption of minimally invasive spine surgery techniques. This tool has allowed me to marry the tissue\sparing advantages of minimally invasive approaches with the precision and accuracy of navigation-guided spine surgery.
The y-wire in effect replaces the k-wire.
For minimally invasive spine fusion using percutaneous techniques, a k-wire would be placed under anterior-posterior and lateral fluoroscopic guidance into the pedicle and body of the vertebrae. This thin wire is placed through a rigid guide cannula (a Jamshidi needle) would then be the guide over which the pedicle screw would ultimately be placed. Fluoroscopy was necessary to select and verify the appropriate trajectory, but also to make sure the k-wire did not advance anterior to the vertebrae, which could have catastrophic consequences. The use of the k-wire has been a key step in placing percutaneous pedicle screws. However, the use fluoroscopy can be cumbersome and time consuming, and a reason I have previously avoided percutaneous pedicle screws.
The y-wire is like a k-wire, but it permits safe placement of this guide wire without fluoroscopy. This is because the tip is split, like a "y." Once it is pushed past the Jamshidi needle that split tip splays into the bone, preventing inadvertent anterior advancement, permitting safe use of this guide wire for placement of percutaneous screws without regular use of fluoroscopy. The need for fluoroscopy is further obviated by combining these y-wires the use of navigation guided Jamshidi needles, and eases the adoption of stereotactic guidance for the placement of percutaneous pedicle screws.
I expect the ability to perform percutaneous pedicle screw fixation without fluoroscopy, thanks to the introduction of the y-wire, greatly improves the efficiency of how this operation is performed, and will greatly increase the popularity and adoption of minimally invasive spine techniques.