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What is Robotic-arm assisted surgery?
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The state-of-the-art Mako™ robotic arm system works alongside the surgeon from the pre-surgery planning stage through to assisting in the surgery itself in order to improve the accuracy and precision of the procedure.
It provides patients with a personalised surgical plan for joint replacement surgery as before surgery, a personalised 3D model is created based on the patient’s own CT scan, allowing the exact size and orientation of the hip or knee implant to be planned.
During the operation, the robot arm guides the surgeon, following the customised pre-surgery plan, reducing the risk of surgical errors in bone preparation and placement of the implants.
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Why use the MakoTM robotic-arm assisted surgery system?
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The Mako Robotic system supports the consultant throughout orthopaedic surgery. Robotic Arm Assisted surgery for a total hip replacement has been shown to be more accurate and to offer a greater improvement in patient function when compared to manual surgery. It can be used for partial knee replacement, a surgical procedure that helps relieve the pain caused by osteoarthritis (the wearing out or breakdown of cartilage in the joints in the knee), as only the damaged area of the knee joint is replaced, helping protect the healthy bone and tissue.
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What happens before surgery?
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In the weeks before your operation, our robotic arm processes the information taken from a 3D CT scan of your body. Your consultant then plans the operation to within fractions of a millimetre with the help of the Robotic-arm assisted technology.
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What happens during surgery?
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Your consultant is always in control during the operation. The robotic-arm assisted technology allows the consultant to perform the joint replacement with pinpoint accuracy. The consultant uses the technology as an extension of his or herself, guiding surgical tools to the correct position. The robotic-arm assisted technology does not perform the surgery on its own but allows the surgeon to make adjustments to your plan during surgery as needed.
When the surgeon prepares the bone for the implant, the Mako System guides the surgeon within the pre-defined area and helps prevent the surgeon from moving outside the planned boundaries. This helps provide more accurate placement and alignment of your implant.
