In what officials call a “first” in the United States, doctors at Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson, Long Island, have used robot assisted surgery for a total knee replacement—not a partial or uni. Officials at Mather Hospital say they have been using robot-assisted equipment for about a year, but that now it has started using the robot for total knee replacements.
Robot Assisted Surgery – A First
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The patent, Laurie Mullens, age 63 said that she had suffered for more than a decade with arthritis in her knees. “Before my surgery, I wasn’t even really able to walk and I had a bad limp, ” she said.
According to Brian McGinley, M.D., the surgeon working with the robot, the technology involves sensors, cameras and a computer to allow the surgeon to map out the patient’s knee in 3D. Once that is completed, the doctors decide on a course of action and input that plan into the computer. “It won’t let me go more than one millimeter off of where I want to put it, ” says McGinley
Doctors at Mather believe that the robot-assisted procedure is appropriate for any patient who needs partial or total knee replacement surgery. They report that they have several more robot assisted surgeries scheduled for the next few weeks.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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