The pain of arthritis in the knee or the hip can make everyday life difficult, and in some cases, nearly unbearable.
About 32.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from osteoarthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As their joints break down and underlying bone begins to change, they experience constant pain or aching, stiffness and decreased motion or flexibility.
At its worst, the only solution is a replacement of the joint — which can entail painful surgery and potentially a long recovery.
But for local patients considering a replacement, Community Hospital South has added a new robotic tool to better treat patients needing a new hip or knee.
“The technology gives us more information both before and during the procedure before I ever make a cut so I can know how the knee is going to function,” said Dr. Kevin Julian, a surgeon with Greenwood Orthopaedics. “We can adjust our cuts to result in less pain, less blood loss, less stiffness and a faster recovery.”
Surgeons can use a robotic arm that generates a 3-D model of the joint, allowing surgeons to better view it and creating a personalized plan that best fits individual patients. The robotic system also can give surgeons more pinpoint control about where to cut the joint to make more precise operations.
Since the program went online about four months ago, Community Hospital South is seeing an immediate impact.
“This cutting edge technology will allow patients to get back to doing the activities they enjoy the most in life,” said Jim Timm, director of nursing for surgical services at Community Hospital South.
The robotic arm is known as the Mako SmartRobotics program, created by the healthcare equipment company Stryker. The system combines three key components together to create a better way of doing total knee, partial knee and hip replacements.
Research has shown that the use of the machine results in less pain after surgery, less use of morphine or other pain medications and a shorter stay in the hospital. As of May, more than 500,000 procedures had been done using the system.
Though the technology has been around for about a decade, Community Hospital South only recently was able to add it to its orthopedic surgery center.
“Community Health Network’s mission is to provide exceptional care, simply delivered. The Mako orthopedic robot allows us to keep that commitment to our patients,” Timm said. “The arrival of the Mako robot is another symbol of Community Hospital South’s commitment to provide Johnson and its surrounding counties the highest quality orthopedic advancement offered in the healthcare industry.”
Using the Mako SmartRobotic system, Julian can take a CT scan of the patient’s joint to generate a three-dimensional virtual model. Because every knee is different, that allows surgeons to examine the unique features of the joint and better plan the operation. They can examine ligaments, bone and blood vessels in advance, resulting in more pinpoint incisions.
“I can come up with a personalized plan for that patient that requires less cutting, so less resection of bone. It protects the ligaments to give them a more balanced knee, really throughout their range of motion,” Julian said.
The Mako system also provides robotic guidance to perform the surgery, which also greatly increases the precision. Tiny pieces of bone and tissue that are causing the patient pain can be removed, while sparing healthy tissue around it.
“The more information we have, the better job we can do in surgery. We can see the bone loss that comes along with knee and hip arthritis, we can see bone spurs that need to be resected,” Julian said. “Some people have complicated anatomy from prior injuries, such that standard joint replacement may not work well for them. “
When Community Hospital South added the system, Julian was focusing its use on patients with severe deformity who had very complex knees. But he is now using it for all of his patients; the benefits have been seen across the board for those who have gone through procedures with it.
“This technology gives us so much more information so we can precisely plan out what we’re going to do, with a more reliable outcome,” he said.
So far, Julian has performed about 25 procedures with the new system, entirely focused on the knee. But he plans to begin using it in hip replacement in the coming months, he said.
The addition to Community Hospital South’s orthopedic surgery department has generated much excitement among the staff.
“I’ve been doing this now for 17 years of practice, and done thousands of joint replacements. The information we get now to provide a good joint replacement for a patient is incredible. We’re more precise. Our outcomes are better in terms of less pain and faster recoveries, less visits to physical therapy,” Julian said. “It really is exciting technology.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Mako SmartRobotics
What: Innovative technology that creates a personalized plan for patients needing joint replacement operation, allowing for a more precise surgery and better recovery.
Where: Community Hospital South
Who does it help: Patients in need of knee or hip replacement.
Information on joint services: ecommunity.com/services/orthopedics-joint-spine/hip-and-knee-joint-replacement/mako-total-hip-knee-replacement
[sc:pullout-text-end]
