OCAHS: Now Offering Robotic-Arm Assisted Joint Replacement Procedures

From the Orange City Area Health System News Release:

Orange City Area Health System is one of the first hospitals in the region to offer Stryker’s Mako Robotic-Arm joint replacement procedures. This latest advancement in partial knee and total knee replacement surgery transforms the way joint replacement procedures are performed.

Robotic-arm assisted surgery is a new approach to joint replacement that offers the potential for a higher level of patient-specific implant alignment and positioning. The technology allows surgeons to create a patient-specific 3D plan and perform joint replacement surgery using a surgeon controlled robotic-arm that helps the surgeon execute the procedure with a high degree of accuracy.

“Mako is changing the way joint replacement surgeries are performed,” said Joshua Locker, MD, orthopedic surgeon at Orange City Area Health System. “With Mako SmartRobotics™ I know more about my patients, and I’m able to cut less. For some patients, this can mean less soft tissue damage; for others, greater bone preservation.”

Locker added: “Mako’s 3D CT allows me to create a personalized plan based on each patient’s unique anatomy, all before entering the operating room, and make any necessary adjustments while guiding the robotic arm to execute that plan.”

These important features of the system have the potential to lead to better outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. In clinical studies, Mako Partial and Total Knee demonstrated the potential for patients to experience less pain, less need for opiate analgesics, less need for inpatient physical therapy, reduction in length of hospital stay, and improved knee flexion and soft tissue protection in comparison to manual techniques.

”We are proud to be among the first to use this innovative technology in our area,” said Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System. “This addition to our orthopedic services further demonstrates our commitment to provide outstanding healthcare to the communities we serve.”