Nanoknee, is it better or merely hype?

I have Medicare Advantage Plan and even I had to pay more Out Of Pocket than what others on here have. Around $500 - $1000 total. I had the Mako UKR and happy with the results. They called it minimally invasive but I have full-size scar which does not bother me at all; if a bigger incision allows surgeon to deal with my knees better, go ahead. Pain was not much of an issue, worst was in day 3 - 5, then every day was better. MY first knee I went to my office the next day, my other knee I took a few days off first. Mine were unicondylar, I got even more bow-legged. Now, not so much.

I got this info from my doctor who trained at Mayo Phoenix

'Minimally invasive (Jiffy or Nano) are no longer done at Mayo Clinic due to poor outcomes and difficult surgical exposure to perform surgery'.

Most of their surgeons do the 'Mako' knee which is robotically assisted but not considered 'minimally invasive'. Their general recommendation is to choose a surgeon who will do the surgery that is best for your situation and not necessarily robotic / minimally invasive.

I don’t think Mayo Clinic probably ever did the jiffy knee replacement. It is not minimally invasive. It is traditional knee replacement and coded as such for insurance purposes. Some doctors have a discount plan for cash patients also. The outcome is the same. The quad isn’t cut so recovery is easier. My husbands pt was amazed at his first visit by the difference. There are only 33 doctors that are trained to do the jiffy knee legally. More are being trained continuously. Go to the jiffy knee.com site to learn more. There is a Facebook group jiffykneefanclub that is good. I know others in addition to my husband that have had theirs done by a jiffy knee trained surgeon. They are all so happy with their results and glad they had the jiffy knee option. People are traveling from out of state to the jiffy knee drs. It’s worth looking into at least.

My knee is totally shot, even with sewing it up. Is this Nanoknee legit or not-I have no idea. However, I suggest that gather all your concerns together and talk to an anesthesiologist because I assume that is who will be doing the work. That includes telling them of how concerning this or that is for you. I am a guinea for surgeons so I want to avoid it. One of my top concerns in the realignment factor for my twisted leg/knee. This place says that they custom fit the knee and use imaging. I will study it more, and wish you good luck and health.

Mike G.

Glad it worked out for you!! My knee is totally shot and I need something like this. Until you were pain free how bad was the pain and what could you do or not do. In other words your functioning. Any PT. Anyway, best of health to you.

Mike G.

Mayo Clinic using Mako as well as Eisenhower. Since they do most of the TKRs in the southwest and west and have the best reputations I decided to go with Mako.

I had the pump for longer than 3 days! I think it was more than one week.

I don't get it either at $8500 out of pocket. The body has to heal, and that takes time. Also other factors come into the picture. I had surgeries on both knees in 1991 for patella femoral subluxation, which impacts the surgery and healing time. Also I had scar tissue for at least 4 months. Also I was over zealous in the rehab exercises which set back the healing and Dr. gave me RX anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer. Now almost 5 months post, have 120-130 ROM finally. I also go to acupuncture weekly, for 12 weeks. When I see the AMAZING nano testimonials, I am in awe and wonder if I went the right way with MAKO athletic. I was referred to a surgeon who does about 12 hip and knee surgeries weekly, by the head of ER dept at a local hospital (his mother is my friend). This all takes ONE YEAR probably regardless of which one gets. It is all frustrating and I am glad I can walk with NO PAIN now!

Jiffy knee is a form of subvastus surgery which avoids cutting the muscles and tendons. I mentioned to my surgeon (who uses a robotic subvastus approach) that a friend was getting a Jiffy Knee. He said that it depended upon the skill of the Jiffy Knee surgeon. I mentioned the name of the Jiffy Knee surgeon that my friend was using and he said that he had not seen any bad results from his work.

We continued chatting (he was in a chatting mood) and we both agreed that even more important than the approach was the experience of the surgeon. We both felt that substantial successful experience in the particular methodology was the most important requirement. He said this even though he himself was an engineer with numerous patents and he is the primary inventor of the new gold standard for hip replacement (Superpath). Here is an interesting web comment from a knee surgeon:
https://drmichaelwind.com/subv-knee-vs-subvastus-knee-vs-jiffy-knee-whats-the-difference/
The particular Jiffy Knee surgeon my friend is using has done thousands of them.

I am bone on bone on my right knee and it is deformed to the side as well so my surgeon has to straighten it out as well. I will see soon how it went (September 25th is my surgical date).

I had my Nano Knee replacement on April 8, 2025 & on June 8th, 2025 I was able to fly to Croatia & the Balkans . 2 - 16 hr. flights. Exactly 2 mo. afterwards, I climbed hundreds & hundreds of steep stone steeps (1080 steps) around Dubrovnik & walked 4-6 miles every day. Plus, I was able to do all of the tours & physically challenging climbing & walks during the entire 21 day trip. I had a 128 flexion only after 5 weeks & could get my entire leg flat. Most people could never do that with a traditional TNR. The only real pain that I had was at night when I had done too much...I had to buy an ice machine in order to sleep. But after 2 weeks, I could sleep the entire night. MY PT guy said that I had had the best recovery that he had ever seen. I was his 1st Nano Knee patient. It is not a piece of cake & not pain free. However, much better that a traditional TNR. I had a Traditional replacement on my other knee 11 yrs. ago & had a great outcome. However, I will never forget the pain & recovery that I went thru. There is no easy TNR...however the Nano knee is much better! As patient...you still have to do the work to get good results. I only used a walker for 1 day!