Degenerative joint disease (DJD), a common cause of hip pain, is a chronic condition hampering the quality of life of affected individuals. There are different types of DJD and the most common ones include osteoarthritis (OA), post-traumatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), avascular necrosis (AVN), and hip dysplasia.

Robotic hip or MAKOplasty® Total Hip Replacement is a novel surgical alternative for patients with degenerative joint disease (DJD). In this procedure a Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System (RIO®) assists the surgeon in aligning and positioning implants more precisely.

MAKOplasty can be considered in patients with pain while bearing weight on the affected joint, pain or stiffness in the hip while walking or performing other activities, and also in patients not responding to a conservative line of management.

Procedure

Accurate placement and alignment of the hip implant is crucial in hip replacement surgery. MAKOplasty® Total Hip Replacement utilizes a CT scan of the patient’s hip to generate a 3-D model of their pelvis and femur. This aids the surgeon in planning your surgery.

During surgery, the RIO® software provides dynamic information to enhance accuracy of the procedure. Such real-time information assists the surgeon in precise placement of the implant, which can be difficult to achieve with traditional surgical techniques.

The benefits of Robotic Hip include:

• Precise placement of the hip implant using the surgeon-controlled robotic arm system with a decline in the possible risk of hip dislocation
• Uniformity in leg length, reducing the requirement of a shoe lift
• Increased longevity of the implant due to a reduction in abnormal rubbing between implant and bone

Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System (RIO®)

The RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System has three dimensional pre-surgical planning. During surgery, the RIO® provides the surgeon with real-time visual, tactile and auditory feedback to facilitate optimal joint resurfacing and implant positioning. Such optimal placement can result in a more natural hip motion following surgery.

RIO® Features:

• Accurately plan implant size, orientation and alignment utilizing CT-derived 3-D modeling
• Enabling the pre-resection capture of patient-specific kinematic tracking through full flexion and extension
• Real-time intra-operative adjustments for correct hip kinematics and soft-tissue balance
• Minimally invasive and bone sparing, with minimal tissue trauma for faster recovery