Mako Robotic-Assisted Joint Replacement is Game Changer

If you have hip or knee pain caused by arthritis you could be considering if a joint replacement is right for you.  You may be worried about taking the time out of your busy schedule for surgery and recovery. Mako robotic-assisted joint replacement may take that worry out of your mind.

What is Mako?

Mako is a surgical system that allows for precise planning of your joint replacement surgery. The system also uses a robotic arm during surgery to assist the surgeon in placing the joint and balancing the joint more precisely. It can be used for total hip and knee replacements, as well as partial knee replacements. Karen Tepe, Director of Orthopaedics and Neurosciences and oversees the joint replacement services offered at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. She says,  “Our goal is to provide our surgeons with the highest level of technology and innovation possible for the care of Northern Kentucky patients.”

Surgeons at St. Elizabeth Healthcare have performed over 4,000 surgeries using the Mako surgical system.

Benefits to the robotic-assisted joint replacement

“The ability to offer this advanced technology to patients who want to stay close to home is an important part of our mission to improve the health of the people we serve,” Tepe says.

There are numerous benefits to undergoing a joint replacement with the Mako robotic-assisted surgery, including:

• Less invasive surgery – By preplanning the surgery using Mako, the surgeon makes smaller, more precise incisions to access the joint. 
• More precise placement of implant – Using pre-surgical imaging, the surgeon can create a surgical plan using your unique anatomy to get the ideal placement of your new joint.
• Better post-surgery motion and mobility – The Mako system allows the surgeon to align the joint and gives joint motion data so the surgeon can see how the joint will move during the surgery. This means you walk more naturally, sooner.
• Shorter hospital stays – Patients can often go home the same day as surgery.
• Less pain and more rapid recovery – A higher level of precision and accuracy and smaller incisions make for a safer procedure and less pain and a quicker recovery.

Any patient who needs a new joint and hasn’t had a previous joint replacement may be a candidate for surgery with the Mako system.

Call for an appointment

“We’re proud to be able to offer the Mako robotic-assisted surgical option to our surgeons and total joint patients at St. Elizabeth.” says Tepe.

For more information on joint replacement with the Mako technology, visit stelizabeth.com/knee, call our Total Joint Coordinator at 859-301-0405 during business hours, or email [email protected].