Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center is now offering MAKOplasty® partial knee resurfacing, a minimally-invasive treatment option for adults living with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis (OA) that has not yet progressed to all three compartments of the knee.
MAKOplasty is less invasive than traditional total knee surgery and is performed using RIO®, a highly advanced, surgeon controlled robotic arm system. Memorial Hermann Memorial City is the first and only hospital in west Houston to acquire this technology.
"MAKOplasty allows us to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis at earlier stages and with greater precision," said Stefan Kreuzer, MD, an orthopedic surgeon affiliated with Memorial Hermann Memorial City. "Because it is less invasive and preserves more of the patient's natural knee, the goal is for patients to have relief from their pain, gain back their knee motion, and return to their daily activities quickly."
MAKOplasty potentially offers the following benefits as compared to total knee surgery:
Through its innovative use of technology, MAKOplasty takes partial knee resurfacing to a new level of precision.
The RIO® system enables the surgeon to complete a patient specific pre-surgical plan that details the technique for bone preparation and customized implant positioning using a CT scan of the patient's own knee. During the procedure, the system creates a three-dimensional, virtual view of the patient's bone surface and correlates the image to the pre-programmed surgical plan. As the surgeon uses the robotic arm, its tactile, auditory and visual feedback limits the bone preparation to the diseased areas and provides for real-time adjustments and more optimal implant positioning and placement for each individual patient.
"Precision is key in planning and performing partial knee surgeries," said Adam Freedhand, MD, an orthopedic surgeon also affiliated with Memorial Hermann Memorial City. "For a good outcome, you must align and position the implants just right. Precision in surgery, and in the pre-operative planning process, is what RIO can deliver for each individual patient."
The opportunity for early intervention is important as OA is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.