What is SPY?

SPY is an imaging system used by surgeons in the operating room to look at blood flow through blood vessels and perfusion to skin and organ tissue. With SPY, surgeons are able to see which areas of skin and tissue are receiving enough blood. Since blood is involved in transporting nutrients and waste products within the body,  impaired tissue perfusion for even a few hours could result in irreversible damage to that area of the body.

Recent studies have shown that patients undergoing surgery where SPY was used had a significantly shorter hospital length of stay, fewer complications from surgery and reduced numbers of returns to the operating room. This reduction occurred because SPY provides surgeons with critical information that allows them to make more informed decisions in the operating room.

SPY imaging has been used in over 15,000 procedures without a single report of an adverse reaction associated with the use of the device. SPY uses an optical imaging technique that does not emit the type of harmful radiation associated with x-ray and other imaging technologies. The light emitted from the SPY system is similar to the light emitted from a flashlight. 

When a surgeon uses SPY during a procedure, patients and their families can take comfort in knowing (and seeing!) that their surgeon made every possible attempt to ensure that their surgery was of the highest quality possible. SPY is ideal for use in a wide variety of surgical procedures including, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, breast and other plastic reconstructive surgeries, microsurgery and organ transplant.  Surgeons using SPY have also demonstrated a role for SPY in upper and lower gastrointestinal surgeries. Ask your doctor about using SPY imaging during your surgery. To locate a hospital using SPY, please refer to our SPY locator on this website.