Robotics Herald the Age of Personalized Orthopedic Surgery

Advanced technologies and surgical techniques promise to personalize orthopedic operations such as total hip and knee replacement, according to a new report.

Improved surgical approaches that are more patient-specific, less invasive, and that improve patient recovery represent the future of orthopedic surgery. Some approaches, such as interactive robotics and computer-assisted surgical navigation, are already in limited use. Newer robotic systems allow surgeons to plan preoperatively highly accurate procedures for each patient, based on individual bone structure and composition. Surgeons are then able to carry out orthopedic operations with precision that cannot be matched using only manual techniques. These technologies can further improve the accuracy and reliability of clinical judgments during technically challenging operations, such as knee resurfacing and total joint replacements.


Among the technologies at the forefront of technology are robotic surgical systems, computer assisted navigation for long limb realignment, fabrication of custom implants and jigs in total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) procedures, intraoperative three dimensional (3D) imaging during trauma care, and assimilation of several different approaches into an integrative solution. The report was presented during October 2010 at an educational program held by the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS; New York, NY, USA).

"Innovative computer-based technologies will further improve surgeries that have been optimized using manual tools,” said Andrew Pearle, M.D., an associate attending orthopedic surgeon at HSS and moderator of the program. "Newer techniques will improve the patient experience by increasing the durability of joint implants and by quickening the recovery time from less-invasive surgeries.”

"Many of these technologies inspire great enthusiasm within the orthopedic community, and we want to be sure that surgeons have the option to use the most promising and effective techniques in their practices,” added Dr. Pearle. "We would like to offer innovations that are more patient-specific, require less invasive surgery, and provide better long-term outcomes.”

During 2007, more than 600,000 TKR procedures were performed in the United States alone. The number is projected to increase every year, with 1.5 million knee replacements in 2020 and possibly 3.5 million by the year 2030, just two decades from today. Currently TKR often results in a pain-free joint; however, the prosthetic joint usually does not function as well as a normal, nonarthritic knee.

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