Robotic Hip and Partial Knee Replacement

Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopaedic System (RIO®)

The RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopaedic System features three-dimensional pre-surgical planning. During surgery, the RIO® provides the surgeon with real-time visual, tactile and auditory feedback to facilitate optimal joint resurfacing and implant positioning. It is this optimal placement that can result in more natural knee motion following surgery.

RIO® assists the surgeon in achieving natural knee kinematics and optimal results at a level of precision previously unattainable with conventional instrumentation.

  • Accurately plan implant size, orientation and alignment utilizing CT-derived 3-D modeling
  • Enabling the pre-resection capture of patient-specific kinematic tracking through full flexion and extension
  • Real-time intra-operative adjustments for correct knee kinematics and soft-tissue balance
  • Minimally invasive and bone sparing, with minimal tissue trauma for faster recovery

What is MAKOplasty?

MAKOplasty is a robotic arm assisted partial knee resurfacing procedure designed to relieve the pain caused by joint degeneration due to osteoarthritis (OA). By selectively targeting the part of your knee damaged by OA, your surgeon can resurface your knee while sparing the healthy bone and ligaments surrounding it.

MAKOplasty Partial Knee Resurfacing Can:

  • Enable surgeons to precisely resurface only the arthritic portion of the knee
  • Preserve healthy tissue and bone
  • Facilitate optimal implant positioning to result in a more natural feeling knee following surgery
  • Result in a more rapid recovery and shorter hospital stay than traditional total knee replacement surgery

Unlike other more invasive procedures, MAKOplasty can often be performed through a four to six-inch incision over your knee with small incisions in both your femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin). Additionally, the preservation of your own natural bone and tissue along with more ideal patient-specific implant positioning may also result in a more natural feeling knee. And since healthy bone is preserved, patients who undergo MAKOplasty partial knee procedures may still be a candidate for a total knee replacement procedure later in life if necessary.

The MAKOplasty procedure is indicated for patients suffering from unicompartmental or bicompartmental knee disease. A total replacement is sometimes necessary if your surgeon discovers during surgery that your knee has more damage than originally seen in the pre-operative X-rays and CT scan.

Your physician should discuss the specific risks associated with MAKOplasty and other treatment options with you. In addition, you should be informed of any pre-operative and post-operative instructions by your surgeon or his or her staff.

As a knee arthroplasty procedure, MAKOplasty is typically covered by Medicare insures- check with your private health insurers. In some cases it may be performed on an outpatient basis depending on what your surgeon determines is the right course of treatment for you.

What is OA?

OA is a form of arthritis and a degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown and eventual loss of joint cartilage. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a cushion between the bones of a joint. With OA, the top layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away, allowing bones under the cartilage to rub together.

What causes OA of the knee?

Although the root cause of OA is unknown, the risk of developing symptomatic OA is influenced by multiple factors such as age, gender and inherited traits that can affect the shape and stability of your joints. Other factors can include:

  • A previous knee injury
  • Repetitive strain on the knee
  • Improper joint alignment
  • Being overweight
  • Exercise or sports-generated stress placed on the knee joint

What are the symptoms of OA of the knee?

Symptoms of OA of the knee include:

  • Pain while standing or walking short distances, climbing up or down stairs, or getting in and out of chairs
  • Pain with activity
  • Start up pain or stiffness when activities are initiated from a sitting position
  • Joint stiffness after getting out of bed
  • Swelling in one or more areas of the knee
  • A grating sensation or crunching feeling in the knee during use

How is OA of the knee diagnosed?

Your physician will begin by reviewing your medical history and symptoms. He or she will observe the natural movement of your knee, evaluate your knee and ankle joint alignment, and check your reflexes, muscle strength, range of motion and ligament stability in the affected knee. Your physician may order x-rays to determine how much joint or bone damage has been done, how much cartilage has been lost and if there are bone spurs present. Additional medical imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be ordered to determine exactly where the damage is and its extent. Your physician may also order blood tests to rule out other causes of symptoms, or order a joint aspiration which involves drawing fluid from the joint through a needle and examining the fluid under a microscope.

How is OA treated?

Whether your OA is mild or severe, your physician will most likely recommend certain lifestyle changes to reduce stress on your knee joints. Additional disease and pain management strategies may include: physical therapy, steroid injections, over-the-counter pain medications such as acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or topical pain relieving creams.

Please speak with your physician if your symptoms aren’t responding to non-surgical solutions, or your pain can no longer be controlled by medication. You could be a candidate for surgery.

The most common surgical knee intervention performed for OA is a total knee replacement. During this procedure, the natural joint is removed and replaced with an artificial implant. This treatment option is usually offered to patients with advanced osteoarthritis of the knee.

Total knee replacement is not always optimal for patients with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis in just one or two compartments of the knee. For patients with partial OA of the knee, MAKOplasty® Partial Knee Resurfacing may be the more appropriate solution.

What is MAKOplasty®?

MAKOplasty® Partial Knee Resurfacing is an innovative treatment option for adults living with early to mid-stage OA that has not progressed to all three compartments of the knee. It is powered by the RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopaedic System, which allows for consistently reproducible precision in performing partial knee resurfacing.

During the procedure, the diseased portion of the knee is resurfaced, sparing the patient’s healthy bone and surrounding tissue. An implant is then secured in the joint to allow the knee to move smoothly again. MAKOplasty® Partial Knee Resurfacing can:

  • Facilitate ideal implant positioning to result in a more natural feeling knee following surgery
  • Result in a more rapid recovery and shorter hospital stay than traditional knee replacement surgery
  • Be performed on an outpatient basis
  • Promote a rapid relief from pain and return to daily activities

As a knee arthroplasty procedure, MAKOplasty® is typically covered by most Medicare-approved and private health insurers.

How may MAKOplasty® benefit me?

The MAKOplasty® Partial Knee Resurfacing procedure is designed to relieve the pain caused by joint degeneration and potentially offers the following benefits:

  • Improved surgical outcomes
  • Less implant wear and loosening
  • Joint resurfacing
  • Bone sparing
  • Smaller incision
  • Less scarring
  • Reduced blood loss
  • Minimal hospitalization
  • Rapid recovery

How does MAKOplasty® work?

The RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopaedic System features three-dimensional pre-surgical planning.

During surgery, the RIO® provides the surgeon with real-time visual, tactile and auditory feedback to facilitate optimal joint resurfacing and implant positioning. It is this optimal placement that can result in more natural knee motion following surgery.

Individual results may vary. There are risks associated with any knee surgical procedure, including MAKOplasty.® Your physician can explain these risks and help determine if MAKOplasty® is right for you.

Who would be a good candidate for the MAKOplasty® procedure?

Typically, MAKOplasty® patients share the following characteristics:

  • Knee pain with activity, usually on the inner knee and/or under the knee cap
  • Start up knee pain or stiffness when activities are initiated from a sitting position
  • Failure to respond to non-surgical treatments or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication

If I undergo MAKOplasty®, what can I expect?

MAKOplasty® can be performed as either an inpatient procedure or on an outpatient basis depending on what your orthopaedic surgeon determines is right for you. Hospital stays average anywhere from one to three days; ambulatory patients return home the same day.

In many cases, patients are permitted to walk soon after surgery, drive a car in the first few weeks, and return to normal daily activities shortly thereafter.

What is the lifespan of a MAKOplasty® implant?

All implants have a life expectancy that depends on several factors including the patient’s weight, activity level, quality of bone stock and compliance with their physician’s orders.

Proper implant alignment and precise positioning during surgery are also very important factors that can improve the life expectancy of an implant. Through the use of RIO®, implants can be optimally aligned and positioned to ensure the longest benefit. RESTORIS® MCK implants enable the treatment of one or two compartments with OA disease. With single compartment disease, a second compartment may be treated in the future if OA spreads. In addition, because very little bone is actually removed during a MAKOplasty® procedure, the implants can be replaced with another procedure such as a total knee replacement, if necessary.

What is MAKOplasty® Total Hip Arthroplasty?

MAKOplasty is a robotic arm assisted total hip replacement procedure designed for those suffering with inflammatory or non-inflammatory degenerative hip joint disease (DJD). Using real-time information and images of your hip, your surgeon knows and controls accurate implant placement, which can be difficult to achieve with traditional total hip replacement techniques without a robotic arm.

What is Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)?

Degenerative joint diseases (DJDs) are chronic conditions often resulting in pain and the loss of an active lifestyle and quality of life. There are different types of DJD that can affect the hip, including:

  • Osteoarthritis (OA), in which cartilage wears down over time
  • Post-traumatic arthritis, which results from a severe fracture or dislocation of the hip
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory arthritis of the joints
  • Avascular necrosis (AVN), a condition where the “ball” or femoral head of the hip joint has lost a healthy supply of blood flow causing the bone to die and the femoral head becomes misshaped
  • Hip dysplasia, a condition where bones around the hip joint did not form properly, which may cause misalignment of the hip joint

What Causes Degenerative Joint Disease?

The risk of developing symptomatic degenerative joint disease is influenced by multiple factors such as age, gender and inherited traits that can affect the shape and stability of your joints. Other factors can include:

  • A previous hip injury
  • Repetitive strain on the hip
  • Improper joint alignment
  • Being overweight
  • Exercise or sports-generated stress placed on the hip joint

MAKOplasty Total Hip Arthroplasty Benefits May Include:

  • Accurate placement of your hip implant using the surgeon-controlled robotic arm system, which can reduce the likelihood of hip dislocation
  • More consistency in leg length, potentially decreasing the need for a shoe lift
  • Decreased risk of the implant and bone abnormally rubbing together – this may improve the lifetime of the implant

MAKOplasty total hip arthroplasty is designed to achieve a new level of precision using the latest techniques in total hip replacement and is designed to restore mobility and an active lifestyle. If your surgeon determines that you are a good candidate for MAKOplasty total hip arthroplasty, he or she will schedule a computed tomography (CT) scan of your hip one to two weeks prior to your surgery date. This is used to create your unique surgical plan for optimal implant placement.

Your physician should discuss the specific risks associated with MAKOplasty and other treatment options with you. In addition, you should be informed of any pre-operative and post-operative instructions by your surgeon or his or her staff. As a total hip arthroplasty procedure, MAKOplasty is typically covered by insurance.

Oklahoma Center for Orthopaedic and Multispecialty Surgery offers comprehensive individualized treatments using the latest in modern technology, combining state-of-the-art treatment with exceptional care.

For more information on our Robotic Hip and Partial Knee Replacement department, you can call or email us.

Our mission is to treat each patient and their family as if they were our own. Each patient, each family, each and every time.

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