Good Shepherd First in Region to Perform Innovative Robotic Arm Guided Knee Surgery

July 26, 2011 - PRLog -- (LONGVIEW, TX – July 25, 2011)---Officials at Good Shepherd Medical Center announced today that on Friday, July 22, it became the first hospital in the region to perform MAKOplasty®, a new, minimally invasive partial knee resurfacing procedure used to treat early to mid-stage osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. MAKOplasty®, powered by the RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic system, offers a more precise and consistent result for partial knee resurfacing.

MAKOplasty® patients may experience a shorter hospital stay, quicker recovery times and a smaller incision as compared to total knee replacement; in fact, all six of Good Shepherd’s MAKOplasty® patients on Friday were released within 24-hours of surgery. In addition, many return to an active lifestyle within weeks of the procedure. MAKOplasty® can be performed on either the inner, top, or outer compartment of the knee. It can also be performed as a bicompartmental procedure on both the inner and top portions of the knee.  

Good Shepherd Medical Center’s lead orthopedic nurse, Jeanne Jones, turned from surgical nurse to patient Friday morning when she became the first patient to undergo a MAKOplasty® at Good Shepherd. “I am just very proud and lucky that Good Shepherd is the first hospital in East Texas to have the robot. It really is a great alternative to total knee replacement. I feel privileged and honored to be the first at our hospital to have this procedure.”

Jordan G. Stanley, MD, orthopedic surgeon, performed Jones’ MAKOplasty®, one of six performed at Good Shepherd on the first day. “MAKOplasty allows us to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis at earlier stages and with greater precision. Because it is less invasive and more of the patient’s natural knee remains, the goal is for patients to have more natural knee motion post-operatively,” said Stanley.

The opportunity for early intervention is important as osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.  

Through its innovative use of technology, MAKOplasty® takes partial knee resurfacing to a new level of precision. When performing MAKOplasty®, surgeons at Good Shepherd Medical Center utilize the RIO®, developed by MAKO Surgical Corp., which features a tactile robotic arm and a 3-D virtual patient specific visualization system.  

This system provides the surgeon a pre-surgical plan that details the technique for bone preparation and customized implant positioning using a CT scan of the patient’s knee. During the procedure, the system creates a three-dimensional live-action, virtual view of the patient’s bone surface and correlates the image to the pre-programmed surgical plan.  As the surgeon uses the robotic arm, its tactile, acoustic and visual feedback limits the bone preparation to the diseased areas and provides for more optimal implant positioning and placement for each individual patient.  

“Precision is the key in planning and performing partial knee surgeries,” said Stanley. “For a good outcome you need to align and position the implants just right. Precision in surgery, and in the pre-operative planning process, is what RIO can deliver.”

Jones is excited at the prospect of being back assisting with this ground-breaking orthopedic surgery rather than undergoing it, particularly due to MAKOplasty’s quicker recovery times, adding, “I am used to pushing the stretcher, not riding on it.”

For more information about MAKOplasty® please visit www.GoodShepherdHealth.org or call the Good Shepherd “Healthy Hotline” at (903) 315-GSHS (4747) or call toll-free at (888) 784-GSHS (4747).