Pioneering robot for hip and knee joint replacement
Spire South Bank Hospital is now offering Mako, a pioneering robotic technology that has transformed the way hip and knee replacements are carried out.
Mako robotic-assisted hip and knee surgery at Spire South Bank Hospital
Consultant orthopaedic surgeons at Spire South Bank Hospital can now use the Mako robotic arm system to assist during joint replacement surgery.
The state-of-the-art robotic-arm, Mako, is a precision tool used by our highly qualified team of surgeons at our Robotics Centre of Excellence - helping to improve the accuracy of hip, knee and partial knee replacement surgeries.
Advantages of using the Mako robot-assisted procedure
Compared to traditional surgery, Mako robot-assisted surgery has been proven to:
- Significantly reduce pain after surgery1
- Allow a faster recovery in early knee movement2
- Perform joint replacement surgery with 2–3 times the accuracy3
Without Mako, surgeons use a burr saw to remove bone. They work by eye and experience - instead of looking at the bone itself to determine whether enough has been removed. Mako tracks healthy and diseased bone so the surgeon can clearly see how much bone should be removed.
The robotic arm is equipped with a saw and the surgeon is free to remove bone within the boundaries identified during the planning stages. If the surgeon attempts to move outside these boundaries, the saw will turn off. This helps the surgeon minimise the trauma to the hip or knee and preserves the maximum amount of healthy tissue.
What to expect if you choose Mako
CT scans are used to create a 3D model of the patient's hip or knee for pre-surgical planning. In the operating theatre, your surgeon follows the personalised surgical plan while preparing the bone for the joint implant.
The Mako robotic arm guides the consultant within pre-defined areas which prevent them from moving outside planned areas, avoiding the removal of healthy bone tissue.
As the surgeon uses the robotic arm to resurface the knee or hip joint for the placement of implants, the robotic arm uses real-time feedback to guide the surgeon's movements enabling a high degree of precision and accuracy in placing implants.
Getting you back on the move is our priority. Working alongside your Orthopaedic surgeon, our team of Physiotherapists will deliver a bespoke care plan to get you back on your feet. You are visited after surgery and a physiotherapist will assess your progress, provide advice and post-operative exercises.
Specialist consultant surgeons using the Mako system
About Mako
Mako procedures have been carried out for over 10 years, with the first knee replacements being carried out in 2006, and the first hip replacement carried out in 2010. Both procedures were conducted in Florida USA. There are 300+ Mako systems assisting with surgery worldwide spanning 19 countries.
Over 70,000 robotic-arm assisted hip and knee procedures have been carried out so far and over 700 surgeons worldwide regularly perform Mako procedures.
- Accuracy of UKA Implant Positioning and Early Clinical Outcomes in a RCT Comparing Robotic Assisted and Manual Surgery. Blyth MJ; Jones B; MacLean A; Anthony I; Rowe P; 13th Annual CAOS Meeting, June 12-15, 2013, Orlando, FL, USA
- Kayani, Konan, Tahmessabi, Pietrzak, Haddad. Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:930–7. Robotic-arm assisted total knee arthroplasty is associated with improved early functional recovery and reduced time to hospital discharge compared with conventional jig-based total knee arthroplasty
- Bell SW, Anthony I, Jones B, MacLean A, Rowe P, Blyth M. Improved Accuracy of Component Positioning with Robotic-Assisted Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016 Apr 20;98(8):627-35
Spire Healthcare does not endorse one medical product or device over another. Robotic arm assisted surgery may not be suitable for some patients. Your consultant will help you decide what treatment is best for you.