How a Robotic Surgical Assistant Can Help Your Total Knee Replacement Surgery

Physicians at the Orthopaedic Institute of Western Kentucky constantly strive to expand their medical knowledge, acquire cutting-edge technology, and provide the best care. And Dr. Shiraz Patel has made the latest effort to meet those goals by bringing a robotic surgical assistant (ROSA) to our practice.

“[Robotic technology] is something that we’ve been anxious to start for the last several years and finally incorporate into our practice,” Dr. Patel says in a short introductory video about the ROSA.

What is the Robotic Surgical Assistant?

The ROSA is a robotic arm that uses tracking technology to map a patient’s anatomy and take exact measurements of their joints during total knee replacement surgeries. This information helps the surgeon make better decisions for the patient.

In addition, the ROSA also positions a physician’s blade to help make precise cuts. It also allows a surgeon to custom fit a knee replacement to match a patient’s anatomy. And it helps perfectly reproduce the patient’s original anatomic alignment and rebalance the knee.

“That’s what robotic surgeries are really all about,” Dr. Patel says. “It’s having a surgical assistant that can see more and do more than the human eye and the surgeon can do.”

How is the Robotic Surgical Assistant used?

Although the ROSA makes surgery more efficient, Dr. Patel emphasizes that it doesn’t perform procedures itself. Instead, it provides doctors with data they must analyze and then decide how to apply. So, even with the ROSA, surgeons must have the necessary skill and experience to ensure success in total knee replacement surgery.  

“This [technology] has allowed me to take knee replacements to the next level,” he explains. “It’s given us information that we’ve never had before. And it’s going to help us, I think, maximize and perfect outcomes for patients for years to come.”