GREENVILLE – If you’re over the age of 40, you’ve probably experienced some joint pain in your knees, hips, or both. Guess what? You’re not alone. Baby Boomers are at the center of an arthritis epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 55 million Americans already have arthritis, and by 2040, that number is expected to jump to nearly 80 million.
New Robot ‘Surgeon’ at Wayne HealthCare
But, there’s hope, thanks in part to a pioneering, first-of-its-kind robot in the Miami Valley that’s also the newest member of the surgical team at Wayne HealthCare in Greenville, located just 30 minutes outside of Dayton.
“The Stryker Mako robotic arm is an amazing technology,” said Wayne Deschambeau, President and CEO of Wayne HealthCare. “When we realized what a difference it could make with patient outcomes, both in precision and recovery times, we knew the system was right for our patients and for us.”
Recently, the hospital celebrated a milestone with Mako: its 100th successful robotic-arm assisted surgery.
Wayne HealthCare is currently the only hospital in the region—encompassing Montgomery, Darke, Preble, Miami, Mercer and Miami counties—that offers Mako robotic-assisted knee and hip surgeries. Since purchasing the robot in late 2018, the surgery team at Wayne has been busy, performing dozens of partial and total knee replacements, as well as hip replacements.
And, with the number of knee and hip replacements expected to increase by as much as 200 percent in the coming years, the surgery team knows they’ll only get busier as more and more Baby Boomers choose to remain active into their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond.
The Mako Difference – The Personal Touch, Literally!
The Mako robot is an innovative technology that allows surgeons to create a personalized surgical experience, tailored to each patient’s specific needs and anatomy. Dr. Chad Weber is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Orthopedic Associates. He performs Mako procedures at Wayne, along with two other orthopedic surgeons from his group. “The Mako allows for more precise surgeries and helps protect soft tissue and ligaments surrounding the patient’s knee or hip implant, which we’ve found result in patients recovering a little quicker, and post-operative pain seems to be a little bit less after surgery.”
The Process
* Before surgery, a CT scan is taken of the patient’s knee or hip joint in order to generate a 3D virtual model.
* The doctor then uses that model to evaluate the patient’s bone structure, disease severity, joint alignment and surrounding bone and tissue to determine optimal size, placement and alignment of the patient’s implant.
* In the operating room, the surgeon guides the robotic arm, which actually auto-aligns based on the surgeon’s pre-operative plan, ensuring that each cut is absolutely perfect.
With Mako-assisted surgeries, patients have options. Wayne HealthCare offers total and partial knee replacements, as well as hip replacement surgeries. And, because the procedures are less invasive than traditional surgeries, patients typically have shorter hospital stays and are able to return to normal, daily activities sooner.
To find out more about robotic knee and hip replacement surgeries, or to schedule a consultation, please call (937) 548-1141, or visit Wayne HealthCare’s website at www.waynehealthcare.org.
