Skillful robots are in prosthetic surgeries this time!

Robotic surgery, which we often hear about in closed surgeries, also provides great convenience to surgeons in the application of knee and hip prostheses. This method allows for good preoperative planning and prevents any undesirable situations during surgery.

Anadolu Health Center Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialist Prof. Dr. Kenan Keklikçi

“Robotic surgery has noticeably shortened recovery times compared to open surgery. Thus, the patient’s return to daily life is faster.”

Anadolu Health Center Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialist Prof. Dr. Selim Şanel

“The use of robots in joint replacement surgery allows us to make ideal planning for the patient’s surgery, especially before surgery. Accordingly, we complete the surgery with the least risk by making the most precise and appropriate incisions.”

In recent years, robot technology has begun to make itself felt more powerful in every aspect of our lives. Health is one of these areas. Today, the use of robot-assisted surgery, which is considered suitable for many surgeries in medicine, is becoming increasingly widespread. This technology, which allows surgeries to be performed with much more precise measurements, is also successfully applied in the surgery of orthopedic problems. We see robotic surgery, which is now more frequently preferred, especially in joint prosthesis surgery, most frequently in knee joint prosthesis surgeries. Anadolu Health Center Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialists Prof. Dr. Kenan Keklikçi and Prof. Dr. According to the information provided by Selim Şanel, robotic technology is also used for hip prostheses. It is even used in trauma and spine surgery. How is robotic surgery used in joint replacement surgery and what advantages does it offer to the patient and the surgeon? We summarized the answers to all of them in our article…

Use of Robots in Orthopedic Surgeries

The robotic technology used in joint replacement surgery is slightly different from the robotic technologies used in branches such as general surgery or urology. Of course, this system also includes components such as the monitor and the arm unit that makes the incision. There is also a console where surgery-related calibrations are made. However, the surgeon performs the surgery not remotely from the console, but directly at the patient’s head, with the help of the robotic arm and the anatomical image on the monitor. The robot is the surgeon’s greatest assistant in making the smallest incisions in the right place, according to the pre-operative planning. A more accurate and precise surgery is aimed with the patient-specific planning before the surgery, and the necessary measurements and calculations are made. All stages; Planning, uploading the patient’s data to the system, and performing the surgery are all carried out under the control of the surgeon. The robot is just the surgeon’s assistant.

Very Common in Knee Prosthesis Surgeries

The areas of use of robotic surgery in orthopedics are also expanding. While the method is most commonly used in knee joint prostheses, it has also become common in hip prostheses for some patient groups. We will soon witness its application in shoulder-related problems.

Is It Suitable For Every Patient?

Robotic surgery is not used in joint prosthesis surgeries in pediatric patients. In addition, this technology is not currently used in patients who will undergo prosthesis replacement. In the use of robotic surgery, factors such as patient selection, degree of disease, and number of surgeries are evaluated together.

Orthopedics and Traumatology Are Open Surgeries Becoming History?

Today, almost all joint surgery operations are performed closed. In the near future, robotic surgery will be further developed with artificial intelligence integrations. It is estimated that the use of robots will increase in all joint prosthesis surgeries and revision surgeries. It seems like it will also become common in trauma surgery. A robot developed in China has been used for some time in treating difficult fracture areas such as the pelvis. As all these developments, scientific publications and surgical experience increase, success rates will continue to increase and the use of robotic surgery will become more widespread.

Advantages of Robotic Surgery for Doctors and Patients

Robotic surgery in the field of orthopedics has an important supporting function for the surgeon:

• The use of robots provides a good planning opportunity for what to do before the surgery, and thus all surprises that may be encountered during the surgery can be prevented.
• Using computed tomography, it allows the necessary adjustments to be made for bone and soft tissue harmony.
• By viewing the computer program and colored anatomical images on the monitor, bone cuts for prosthesis application can be made in detail, precisely and in the most appropriate way.
• The surgeon clearly knows where, at what angle, and how many mm he will cut during the surgery, based on pre-operative planning, and he performs the surgery by directing the robot accordingly. Since the surgeon makes the incisions himself with the help of a robot, he can stop the process whenever he wants.
• With all these advantages, the margin of error is minimized before and during surgery.
• Robotic surgery also has advantages for the patient. It significantly shortens recovery times compared to open surgery. Thus, the patient’s return to daily life is faster. The method also reduces possible tissue edema. However, additional treatments may be required for some conditions after surgery.