A hospital in East Anglia has become the first in the country to use robot-assisted surgery to transform the way it performs joint replacement procedures.
Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital is using robotic-arm assisted technology from surgical robotics provider Stryker to perform joint replacement surgery.
Stryker’s technology enables surgeons at the hospital to create a patient-specific 3D plan to personalise procedures to each patient. Using the robotic-arm, surgeons can execute procedures with a higher degree of accuracy. The Mako application is designed to relieve the pain caused by joint degeneration due to osteoarthritis that has not yet progressed to all three compartments of the knee. Surgeons can use the technology to single out the part of the knee damaged by osteoarthritis, sparing healthy bone and ligaments surrounding the knee joint.
Christopher Gooding, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust, said: “Mako is changing the way joint replacement surgeries are performed. Using a virtual 3D model, the Mako System allows surgeons to personalise each patient’s surgical plan pre-operatively, so there is a clear plan for how the surgeon will position the implant before entering the operating room. During surgery, the surgeon can validate that plan and make any necessary adjustments, while the robotic-arm then allows the surgeon to execute that plan with a high level of accuracy and predictability. The combination of these three features of the system has the potential to lead to better outcomes and higher patient satisfaction.”
”We are proud to be amongst the first to use this innovative technology in the UK” said Adrian Connolly, hospital director, Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital. “It is part of our commitment to provide our community with outstanding healthcare and with six surgeons here using the system, patients will find access to this technology readily available.”
