Home / Health / Winnipeg Spine Surgeries Soar with New Tech
Winnipeg Spine Surgeries Soar with New Tech
14 Mar
Summary
- New technology enables faster patient recovery and shorter hospital stays.
- Winnipeg performed 40% more spine surgeries in 2025 than pre-pandemic.
- An investment of $2.7 million supports expanded spinal surgery services.
Concordia Hospital in Winnipeg is at the forefront of spinal surgery innovation, utilizing advanced instrumented navigated spine surgery systems. These technologies, which include intraoperative CT scans and precision guidance, allow for minimally invasive procedures with smaller incisions. Patients now experience less pain and faster recovery, often being discharged the same day or the day after surgery.
This technological advancement has significantly boosted surgical capacity, with Winnipeg performing approximately 40% more spine surgeries in 2025 than in 2019. This increase is attributed to an investment of $2.7 million from the provincial government to expand these services at Concordia. The program aims to increase annual surgeries from 42 to 75, alleviating pressure on other major hospitals and improving patient outcomes. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew highlighted this as a game-changer for patients suffering from chronic back pain.
Despite these advancements, some patients express frustration over past wait times and the cancellation of out-of-province surgery programs by the provincial government. One patient recounted spending $23,000 for private surgery in Calgary due to rejected requests for out-of-province procedures. The expansion at Concordia is managed through HSC's Manitoba Spine Clinic, a new initiative aimed at further increasing surgical capacity within the province.
