A P R I L 2 0 1 7 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 1 1
reduced recovery times and more highly satisfied patients is the holy grail of
arthroplasty: joint replacement procedures so precise that patients won't outlive
their implants.
"We could replace patients' joints, make their knees feel normal again and
have the implants last the rest of their lives," says Blake Nonweiler, MD, an
orthopedic surgeon at The Center: Orthopedic & Neurosurgical Care &
Research in Bend, Ore. "I'm passionate about [robotic] technology, and I
believe it will eventually improve our abilities to perform arthroplasties."
If that's the case, investing in orthopedic robotic surgery will let your sur-
geons perform more patient-pleasing partial knee and total hip replacements
and position your facility to capitalize on the skyrocketing demand for outpa-
tient total joints. Here's what to consider before adding the game-changing tech-
nology to your ortho ORs.
Better outcomes and quicker recoveries
There are currently 2 main options for orthopedic robot technologies. One
requires a pre-op CT scan of the knee, which is then used to generate a 3D
model of the joint's
anatomy, says Dr.
Nonweiler. The sys-
tem uses the 3D
model and informa-
tion captured during
surgery to guide a
robotic arm the sur-
geon uses to make
his cuts. The sur-
geon burrs areas of
the joint's bones that
• IN GOOD HANDS "Smart" instruments give surgeons confidence when they're performing chal-
lenging partial knee replacements.
Northern
Westchester
Hospital
