LONG BRANCH – Monmouth Medical Center is the first hospital in central and southern New Jersey to introduce robotic-assisted partial knee resurfacing and total hip replacement procedures.
The robotic-assisted surgeries are performed using the RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System marketed by MAKO Surgical Corp.
RIO is a surgeon-controlled robotic arm system that enables accurate alignment and placement of implants.
“Accuracy is key in planning and performing both partial knee and total hip procedures,” said David Chalnick, M.D., medical director of the Joint Replacement Center at Monmouth Medical Center. “For a good outcome you need to align and position the implants just right. RIO enables surgeons to personalize partial knee and total hip arthroplasties to achieve optimal results at a level of accuracy and reproducibility previously unattainable with conventional instrumentation.”
The RIO system features a patient-specific visualization system and proprietary tactile robotic arm technology that is integrated with intelligent surgical instruments. It assists surgeons in preplanning and in treating each patient uniquely and with consistently reproducible procedure.
Monmouth Medical Center announced in October that it has reached another robotic surgery milestone by performing the region’s first robotic partial knee replacement surgery to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. This latest example of pioneering robotic surgery at Monmouth Medical Center follows the hospital’s recent milestone of performing more than 2,000 robotic surgeries.
Partial knee resurfacing is a minimally invasive treatment option for adults living with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis that has not yet progressed to all three compartments of the knee. The first procedures were performed by Chalnick and Mark W. Gesell, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and joint replacement specialist with Monmouth.
A presurgical plan is created based on a CT scan of the patient’s own knee, and the surgeon uses the robotic arm during surgery to resurface the diseased portion of the knee, sparing healthy bone and surrounding tissue for a more natural feeling knee. An implant is then secured in the joint to allow the knee to move smoothly again.
In November, Monmouth Medical Center introduced robotic-assisted total hip replacement surgery, which utilizes the RIO System for visualization of the joint and biomechanical data to guide the bone preparation and implant positioning to match the presurgical plan. After first preparing the femur or thighbone, the surgeon uses the robotic arm to accurately ream and shape the acetabulum socket in the hip, and then implant the cup at the correct depth and orientation. The surgeon then implants the femoral implant.
“This system offers the confidence of more accurate cup placement and accurate leg length restoration,” Gesell says. “We are proud to be the first in the region to offer this innovative treatment option to our patients.”
To learn more about robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery or to learn about upcoming patient information seminars, call the Joint Replacement Center coordinator at 732-923-7971.
