Robotic Knee Replacement Surgery
Recent advances in joint replacement surgery have led to the development of robotic assisted knee replacement techniques.
What is robotic knee replacement surgery?
Recent advances in joint replacement surgery have led to the development of robotic assisted knee replacement techniques. In a conventional knee replacement surgery, the surgeon uses external jigs and a rod inserted into the thigh bone to place cutting jigs around the knee to perform the required bony saw cuts. In a robotic assisted procedure, a pre-operative scan is performed of your knee and this allows a computerised 3D model of the bones to be used to plan the sizing and position of the implants before the procedure is carried out (Figure L and M).
During the operation the tracker pins and placed to give information during the procedure on the optimum position of the knee replacement to maximise knee movement and stability. The robotic arm is controlled by the surgeon and the bony cuts can be carried out without the use of any jigs in a precise fashion using a saw (Figure A and Video C). In a partial knee replacement, a burr is used on the robotic arm to remove only the worn out joint surface and bone on the femur where the implant will be placed.
Mr Bell has been involved in clinical research for robotic knee surgery including a randomised controlled study which identified improvement in the accuracy in the placements of robotic assisted partial knee replacements (Improved accuracy of component positioning with robotic-assisted unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, Bell SW et al. Journal of the Bone and Joint Surgery America). Clinical studies for robotic surgery have identified quicker recovery from surgery and less pain following the operation
Mr Bell has a specialist interest in robotic knee total and partial knee replacements.