Robotic Assisted Total Hip Replacement Now Available at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center

Posted by LIVING WELL Magazine on July 25, 2012 in Articles, Local Editions, Medical & Dental, Orthopaedic, Salt Lake City, Utah

Robotic Assisted Total Hip Replacement Now Available at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center

By Trevor Magee, MD, Center for Precision Join Replacement at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, Salt Lake City LIVING WELL Magazine

We are pleased to announce the availability of the RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System for use in total hip replacement procedures, called MAKOplasty® Total Hip Arthroplasty.

MAKO’s total hip replacement application is designed to support the surgeon’s ability to more accurately align and position the implants relative to the needs of a patient. This may reduce potential complications associated with conventional hip replacement surgery.

MAKOplasty® Total Hip Arthroplasty provides a surgeon with a pre-operative 3-D reconstruction of the patient’s hip and is used to develop the patient-specific surgical plan. The robotic-arm then assists the surgeon during the procedure to accurately prepare the joint and optimally place hip implants.

MAKOplasty® Total Hip Arthroplasty provides a significant advantage to us as surgeons and to our patients. It provides quantitative knowledge for what were difficult judgment decisions inherent in manually performed operations. It provides the surgeon with accurate objective data to ensure the implants, leg length and offset are correct.

It makes recovery easier for patients, including their comfort, activities and protection from dislocation. This robotic guided operation is only available at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. This is the only hospital in the state of Utah that offers this technology.

A recently published Massachusetts General Hospital study reported that over a sustained period of study of 1,823 hips, only 50% of acetabular cups (cup-shaped sockets of the hip joint) were positioned in the acceptable range. Mal-positioning of acetabular cups in conventional hip replacement surgery may lead to impingement that can cause dislocation, fracture, and increased implant wear. Nearly 300,000 primary hip replacement surgeries are performed annually in the U.S. using conventional techniques.

What does this mean to patients needing hip replacements? We know from studies that properly positioned hip implants decrease the wear rate and increase stability, minimizing the chance of dislocation.

We are pleased to introduce MAKOplasty® Total Hip Arthroplasty as an option for our patients. We believe we as surgeons, and most importantly, our patients, will benefit from this proven technology. MAKO® will help improve accuracy and precision in surgery and result in a potential reduction of the complications reported from conventional approaches. We are excited for the opportunities that MAKOplasty® Total Hip Arthroplasty will provide for us and our patients.

We provide free monthly informational seminars. Visit saltlakeregional.com/community events or call 1-866-431- WELL (9355) to reserve your seat.

For more information on MAKOplasty® technology or the Center for Precision Joint Replacement at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, visit jointreplacementutah.com.