Each year, more than 600,000 Americans undergo knee replacement surgeries1, and with nearly 20 percent of Americans expected to be over the age of 65 by 20302, demand for these procedures is expected to grow. Hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) around the country are looking for new techniques, tools and technologies that can help them meet the broad demand for these and other joint replacement procedures while looking to improve patient experience and outcomes.
With surgeries like knee replacements, it is especially critical to take into account the individual anatomy, lifestyle and needs of the patient. No two knees and no two patients are identical, and each patient may face unique challenges as they seek to regain their mobility. For surgeons, the key to optimizing care for each patient is understanding their unique anatomical and environmental needs, making thoughtful and personalized choices for each patient and then being able to implement those decisions accurately and consistently. And for hospitals and ASCs, they need to make smart investments in tools that meet these needs for patients and surgeons, but that also provide improved optimized efficiency and value.
For these reasons, a new team member is becoming increasingly common in operating rooms – the surgical robot. Earlier this year, medical technology leader, Zimmer Biomet, launched the latest addition to their ROSA® Robotics System, ROSA® Partial Knee, which enhances patient satisfaction through accurate and reproducible surgery.3 The ROSA Partial Knee System provides confidence in performing partial knee arthroplasty by offering a simple technique, the clinical heritage of the Persona® Partial Knee and efficiency throughout the surgical journey. Designed by surgeons for surgeons, ROSA Partial Knee is an accurate3 and efficient surgical assistant that also produces data.
“With a robot in the operating room, I can focus more on the patient because I know that the robot will help streamline the complexity of the procedure,” said Dr. Jeff Almand, an orthopedic surgeon and ROSA Robotics user. “ROSA empowers me to make the right decision for the patient and the tools to respond to their unique needs, even allowing me to switch seamlessly between performing a partial knee replacement and a total knee operation if it turns out that’s the best path forward for the patient.”
With ROSA Partial Knee, surgeons are able to objectively measure soft tissue feedback and virtually conduct a knee replacement before performing any resections. One of the first things that ROSA does is create a detailed 3D imaged bone model of the patient’s anatomy.
“My job is to ensure that patients don’t just have a successful surgery, but that they are set up for a successful recovery,” added Dr. Almand. “With a robot like ROSA, I am able to get a deep understanding of each patient’s anatomy and the mobility challenges they experienced before surgery. With that information, I can use ROSA to help chart out the most efficient and optimized way to perform the procedure – and ensure that I have data that can help equip the patient for post-surgical care with the best chance of a satisfying recovery and return to mobility.”
While the value that these robots bring to patients and surgeons may be clear, they can also have a meaningful effect on overall efficiency and results within a hospital or surgical center. For ASCs, having a robot in the operating room can mean that more procedures can be performed with fewer complications and higher levels of patient satisfaction. That’s part of the reason why Dr. Almand’s ASC has grown to use three separate ROSA robots, as the increased efficiency they bring to these complex procedures enables him and his colleagues to perform over 1,200 ROSA-assisted joint replacements each year.
“When you have the tools to make the right plan for patients and execute that plan efficiently and predictably, you wind up with more satisfied patients who feel that they’ve received the exceptional care they deserve – and that all adds up to a more efficient practice all around,” said Dr. Almand. “That kind of efficiency is going to be critical, especially for facilities like ambulatory surgery centers, as demand for joint replacements rise with an aging population and more procedures shift outside of a hospital setting. These tools will become the standard of care within the next decade, especially as more people see that robots can result in both happier – and healthier – patients and a more efficient practice.”
For more information on ROSA Partial Knee, please visit www.zimmerbiomet.com/rosapartial.
