Robotic Knee replacement

Over the past decade, advances in imaging and instrumentation have led to the development of robotic-assisted surgery — an approach that helps surgeons plan and perform a variety of procedures with a high degree of accuracy. This includes total hip, total knee, and partial (unicompartmental) knee replacements.

With traditional hip and knee replacement procedures, the surgeon uses traditional cutting jigs (templates, or guides) and instruments to prepare the bone surfaces and align the joint.

Robotic-assisted joint replacements instead combines three-dimensional planning before surgery with real-time computer navigation during surgery. Using robotic tools that have sensory feedback, the surgeon can remove damaged bone and cartilage and implant artificial joints with greater precision, as well as help to preserve healthy tissue.

Your orthopaedic surgeon will discuss different surgical options with you and determine which approach will give you the best outcome.

Knee Joint

The knee is a hinge joint made of the lower thighbone (femur), the upper shinbone (tibia), and the kneecap (patella). The ends of these bones are covered with articular cartilage, which is a smooth tissue that cushions the ends of the bones. This allows the joint to move easily.

The menisci are C-shaped structures located between the femur and tibia. They act as shock absorbers to cushion the joint.

Large ligaments (the cruciates and collaterals) hold the femur and tibia together and provide stability. The long thigh muscles (the quadriceps and hamstrings) give the knee strength.

A thin tissue called the synovial membrane surrounds the knee joint. In a healthy knee, this membrane makes a small amount of fluid that lubricates the cartilage and eliminates almost all friction during knee movement.

Causes of Hip and Knee Pain

In hip and knee arthritis, the cartilage protecting the bones of the knee wears away. This can occur throughout the joint or just in a single area. Joint replacement is the surgical treatment for advanced arthritis.

There are several types of hip and knee arthritis:

• Osteoarthritis:- This is an age-related, wear-and-tear type of arthritis. It usually occurs in people 50 years of age and older but may also occur in younger people. The cartilage that cushions the bones of the hip or knee softens and wears away. The bones then rub against one another, causing joint pain and stiffness.
• Rheumatoid arthritis:- In this disease, the synovial membrane that surrounds the joint becomes inflamed and thickened. This chronic inflammation can damage the cartilage and eventually cause cartilage loss, pain, and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of a group of disorders termed inflammatory arthritis.
• Posttraumatic arthritis:- This can follow a serious hip or knee injury. Fractures of the bones surrounding the joint or tears of ligaments may damage the articular cartilage over time, causing joint pain and limiting joint function.
• Osteonecrosis:- An injury to the hip or knee, such as a dislocation or fracture, may limit the blood supply to the bone. This is called osteonecrosis (also sometimes referred to as avascular necrosis). The lack of blood may cause the surface of the bone to collapse, and arthritis will result. Some diseases can also cause osteonecrosis.
• Childhood hip disease that leads to arthritis:- Some infants and children have hip problems, such as abnormal development (dysplasia) of the hip. Even if the problems are successfully treated during childhood, they may still cause arthritis later in life. This happens because the hip may not grow normally, and the joint surfaces are affected.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Robotic-Assisted Joint Replacement

In both traditional and robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery, the damaged bone and cartilage are removed and replaced with prosthetic components.

• In total knee replacement, the equivalent of a prosthetic cap is placed on the ends of the bone.
• For a hip replacement, the entire joint is replaced with metal, ceramic, and plastic implants.
• Only the damaged compartment is replaced in a partial (unicompartmental) knee replacement surgery, while healthy cartilage and bone and all of the ligaments are preserved.

Best Robotic Knee Replacement Surgeon In Nizampet

For a robotic procedure, special imaging is often obtained before surgery to create a customized 3-D plan for your joint replacement, depending on which robotic platform the surgeon uses.

Robotic-assisted total joint replacement surgery takes the same amount of time as a traditional joint replacement. And like traditional joint replacement, the procedure can be performed in a hospital operating room or an outpatient surgery center.

The potential advantages of robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery include:

• A joint replacement that is well-aligned and stable and that specifically minimizes the errors that can occur in patients who have unique variations in their joint anatomy
• More precise joint replacement in cases of challenging anatomy (like a stiff spine above a hip with arthritis or hip dysplasia)
• The ability to create a customized surgical plan and choose the ideal implant sizes before surgery

The disadvantages of robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery include:

• Possible need for additional imaging (CT scan) before surgery
• Possible risk of bone fractures where the navigation pins are placed