ing to one study (osmag.net/jAWgR7).
Also consider adding cold-therapy analgesia, says Joseph Nessler,
MD, a joint replacement specialist at St. Cloud Orthopedics in Sartell,
Minn. For example, recirculating cold therapy machines provide
strong and continuous ice therapy to the joint area.
3. Precision implant placement
Precision is essential when placing implant components in order to
optimize joint stability and alignment, and requires detailed pre-op
planning. Missing the optimal placement by a single degree or shaving
the bone by a mere 1 mm too much can lead to premature implant
failure and suboptimal joint function. Many surgeons can use conven-
tional instrumentation and cutting blocks to make precise cuts and
place implants with incredible accuracy, but many more might not
have the skills and experience to achieve excellent clinical outcomes
without robotic assistance.
During robotic-assisted procedures, surgeons register anatomical
landmarks of the patient's knee to the robotic platform and rely on
the robotic handheld device to guide cuts in the femur and tibia, so
the implant components are placed precisely where they need to be
based on the patient's unique anatomy.
"We model our knees pre-operatively using an anatomical creation
based on a 3D CT scan of the patient," says Dr. Nessler. "That has
improved the precision of the procedures."
There's another way to achieve precise joint replacement outcomes:
template-directed instrumentation (TDI) involves capturing digital
radiography of a patient's joint and sending the images to a compo-
nent vendor, which prepares 2 to 3 trays of customized instruments
based on the expected size of the tibial and femoral implant compo-
nents that the surgeon will use.
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