Robotic Assisted Surgery

Using different advanced technologies to assist with surgery has been part of our practice since 1990. Digital radiography has assisted precision preoperatively planning and we use this for every patient. Since each patient and each joint are unique and individual a complete operative plan is needed for each surgery. We have this in place for all our patients. It typically takes about an hour for this vital step. We do this prior to the operation most often the day or two before the procedure. The size of each implant, its placement on the bone and its orientation are planned in advance.

There are many names for the advances technologies available. Machine Assisted Surgery, Robotic Assisted Surgery, Computer Assisted Surgery, Surgical Navigation are generic terms.

Makoplasty refers to a specific robotic platform now offered by Stryker. I performed the first Mako Robotic Hip Replacement at Swedish Hospital several years ago. Originally Mako technology worked with several implant systems. Stryker purchased Mako and now only Stryker implants can be used with the Mako Robot. Other vendors such as Smith-Nephew with their Navio and Zimmer/Biomet with their ROSA have developed proprietary robotic programs associated with their products. Open platform systems may provide a more flexible approach. There are also systems that do not control the choice of implant a patient receives.

Precision and accuracy are important in surgery. For Hip Resurfacing and Partial Knee replacement they are vital as the surgeon much match the implant to the patients existing bone. Computer assistance is part of all of our procedures. We were an early adopter of this for hip and knee replacement. We are the leaders in this technology for Hip Resurfacing.