Making a rapid recovery from surgery involves managing your pain effectively, being able to mobilise early and healing well from your wounds.
One of the reasons that Carrothers Orthopaedics uses Mako robotic arm assisted technology in joint replacement surgery is that it helps patients to recover more quickly so they can rehabilitate and get back to living a full and active life.
Here’s how Mako technology supports people to recover more quickly:
Mako robotic surgery is more precise
Using Mako robotic arm technology in joint replacement surgery allows the surgeon to cut away less of your natural joint structure and preserve more of your healthy bone and soft tissue. This contributes to a reduction in blood loss, faster recovery times, a shorter hospital stay, less post-operative pain, and often a smaller surgical incision site resulting in a smaller scar.
Mako ensures greater precision both in pre-surgery planning and during the operation itself. Here’s how it works:
Before surgery you will have a CT scan of your joint – either hip or knee – and from this the Mako system will develop a 3D virtual model of your joint. Your surgeon can use this information to ultimately provide each patient with a patient specific bespoke prosthetic joint implantation. As part of this plan the surgeon assesses how severe your arthritis is, what your bone structure, unique anatomy and surrounding soft tissue is like and whether or not the joint is properly aligned. A personalised surgical plan is created showing the optimal size, placement and alignment of the prosthetic implant; hence ‘bespoke implantation’.
During the surgical procedure, the surgeon follows the surgical plan, using the robotic arm to remove diseased bone and cartilage from the damaged joint. By keeping within precisely defined boundaries, no healthy bone or tissue is inadvertently removed. However, the system provides real-time data so the surgeon can choose to make minute adjustments to the surgical plan if necessary. Such fractional adjustments help to ensure optimal functionality and fit of the replacement joint and can be crucial for long-term comfort and durability.
Once all of the diseased bone and tissue has been removed, Mako is used to guide the prosthetic implant into place with absolute precision. This greater precision means the joint implant is more accurately aligned which typically leads to:
- Better performance
- Improved comfort
- Less soft tissue and ligament damage
- Preservation of healthy bone, which is an advantage if revision surgery is needed in the future to replace a worn-out implant
Patients spend less time on the operating table
Because Mako surgery is potentially not so invasive as conventional joint replacement surgery, patients can spend less time on the operating table and generally recover faster. Most people who have had a Mako robotic arm-assisted joint replacement can aim to go home the same day or the day after surgery.
Patients are encouraged to get up and about on the same day as surgery and will normally need to use a walker to support their balance for a few days. Most people are able to walk unaided within two or three weeks and need around six weeks of physiotherapy to support rehabilitation.
Patients experience less pain
Because soft tissue and ligament damage is less and the replacement joint is more accurately aligned to the patients unique anatomy, movement is easier and more natural and patients typically report lower pain levels six months after surgery compared to conventional joint replacement surgery. Patient satisfaction scores are also tending to be higher.
There are fewer complications with Mako
Mako surgery is likely associated with a lower risk of complications, such as infections or blood clots.
What patients say about Mako robotic surgery
Patients generally report excellent outcomes following Mako surgery.
Learn about Mary’s experience with Mako in this short video:
Another patient recently commented:
“I am delighted with my progress after a total hip replacement with Mako, carried out by Mr Carrothers two months ago. He was very approachable and readily answered all my questions both before and after the operation. My grateful thanks go to him and his team for their skill and attention and thanks, too, to the Nuffield staff, nurses and physios for their good-humoured care and support.”
You can read more testimonials here.
Read our blog Planning Your Mako Robotic Arm-Assisted Surgery: What’s Different? for more details about how this type of surgery differs from conventional joint replacement.
Talk to Carrothers Orthopaedic for more details about Mako robotic arm-assisted surgery for joint replacement. We have recently completed our 150thMako surgery, joining the group of the UK’s leading authorities on this type of surgery. Our 100thMako procedure, was celebrated with a cake to mark the occasion for the Mako team.
Robotic arm assisted joint replacement | Cambridge
Whether you have chronic pain due to an injury, or have developed a condition such as osteoarthritis, there are options available to you to get back to optimum health. Our specialist consultant orthopaedic surgeons treat a wide range of orthopaedic conditions, including arthritis, trauma, limb deformation and sports injuries. We also offer Mako robotic arm assisted surgery to patients that are suitable.
Our consultation fees are clearly presented here.
For your convenience, we offer appointments at both Nuffield Hospital Cambridge and Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital.