Robotic assisted total knee replacement

@mhort1213 I have not had that surgery, but I do know a woman who did have it and she had a great recovery and was extremely happy with it. Of course, much depends on the doctor doing it also.
JK

@mhort1213 I asked my surgeon about robotics and said the surgeries tend to go quite well, but he is holding off until more long term data is available.

My uncle had the robotic surgery done Feb 2019 and had a great recovery. I was reading that there can be less pain during recovery because the robot is able to more precisely adjust bone alignment and can use its computer brain to calculate individual measurements of the tendons, ligaments and muscle. I assume this means there is less manual manipulation of these soft tissues / stretching.

It is hard to know what to do.......

Thank you!

Yes, it is. I had surgery on my left knee in January and have had this tight band and fluid around my knee ever since so I am hesitant to have it done the same way. I'll keep researching! Thank you for your input!

Hi @mhort1213 - I had one knee done in April 2017 by the old technique and one done in January 2019 by the new robotic assisted technique. My doctor was very interested in my experience since I was a living, breathing, AND walking example of before and after! The surgeon told me that the surgery was more accurate and that he had been told that the robot assisted surgery results in less pain and a quicker recovery - since they don't have to cut as much bone . That was so true for me. I was able to stop my pain meds about a month earlier on my second knee and I reached all of my milestones much more quickly. For example, on my 2nd knee, before my discharge from the hospital, I was so steady using the walker that the physical therapist let me try using a cane. I was fine. I actually did use the walker of and on for about a week once I was home - especially at night to go to the bathroom, but most of the time I used a cane. Then, by week 2, I was not using a cane or walker in the house - only outside. At the beginning of week 3 I was allowed to drive and by mid-week I transitioned from inpatient PT to outpatient. At that point, my ROM was great - I had full extension and my flexion had reached about 128. My outpatient physical therapist concentrated on balance and functional activities like stair climbing since we didn't really need to work anymore on ROM. I was discharged from PT at 8 weeks (as opposed to 12 weeks with my first knee). So... I'm a huge cheerleader for the robot assisted arm surgery. I'm going to share a link that talks about this technique. Is there anything you are particularly worried about with the surgery? I'll be happy to share any additional information I have if it will help. Meantime, check this out - Dr. Ortiguera was my surgeon and he is terrific:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/knee-replacement/multimedia/robotic-knee-resurfacing/vid-20078259

That is so good to hear! Where did you have it done and was it a total or partial? I know they started with partials and now doing some totals, but not many Dr doing them yet. I'm doing a lot of research so hopefully will find a good surgeon who does them. Thanks for your input!

Hi @mhort1213 - It was a total knee replacement. I started to mention that on my last post but my typing fingers had gotten tired. LOL. What I meant to say was that the video is my surgeon talking about partial knee replacement. He is an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Jacksonville. He started using the robotic arm assist for partials about 2010 but in May 2017 he started using it for total knee replacements. He says it takes a little bit longer and its a little bit more expensive since they have to do a CT Scan of the knee, but he says the increased accuracy is worth it. Don't know where you are located but Dr. Cedric Ortiguera is terrific if you are anywhere near Jacksonville - or inclined to travel here. Best of luck!

Thanks for the information. I just found a Dr. Here in Ca. that does robotic TKR. I went to a presentation that he gave and am very impressed with him and procedure. It is so much more precise and less invasive. I have straight Medicare with supplement so need to see if they will cover. Hope so.

I need a TKR and prefer it done robotically. Looking for input on your experiences and recommendations. Thank you.

Hi @mjdm80 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You'll see I moved your comment to a post that is already discussing robotic knee replacement. I did this so that you are able to connect with the members here and ask them about their experience.

Where were you looking to have the surgery done?