Advances in technology are making strides in the world of orthopedic surgery. Find out if robotics-assisted surgery is right for you.
Robotic-assisted surgery is one of those tools and has earned its place in orthopedics.
Dr. Deidre Blake, orthopedic surgeon and Medical Director of Cayuga Orthopedics, notes the importance of innovating with robotic-assisted surgery. “We’re always striving to make reproducibly excellent results through all of our surgeries, so robotics has really risen as an option for developing reproducible placements of hardware in total joint surgery and partial uni-compartment arthroplasty,” she says.
Who Benefits from Robotic-Assisted Surgery?
The knee is made up of three compartments—medial, lateral and patellofemoral. If you have osteoarthritis in one compartment, you may be a candidate for partial knee replacement. If the arthritis affects more than one compartment, total joint replacement is recommended. The FDA has approved robotic-assisted surgery for both instances.
Dr. Blake goes on to state that conventional surgery is still effective and safe. Robotic-assisted surgery can improve precision placement for optimal success in specific situations.
You may envision a robot being programmed to handle the operation on its own. That’s not the case. A handheld computer maps out the patient’s individual anatomy. The measurements it takes are fed into algorithms that determine where pins should be placed to complete the surgery.
“A robotic handheld device helps surgeons decide on the bone removal and implant positioning, based off all the computer-assisted measurements and the decision of where the implants have to be,” notes Dr. Blake. The surgeon guides the robotic handheld piece to navigate the best alignment and positioning of the implant.
If the candidate is a good fit for this technique, one benefit is that partial knee replacement requires a smaller incision. With more accurate placement of implants, they also last longer in the person’s body. This should significantly delay the necessity of a second surgery.