Dr Chris McCready performed the first knee replacement surgery with the assistance of a robotic arm system this week, making a personalised knee-cap.
Johannesburg, South Africa – Dr Chris McCready is said to be a knee replacement hero; his patients credit him for putting their lives back together after their knee and hip replacements.
Dr McCready did the first robotic arm-assisted surgery for a knee replacement in South Africa. The robotic arm system is the future of medicine going forward. The robotic arm is not actually an arm in the functional sense; it is used to scan the patient in pre-op; this helps the doctor to personalise a surgery.
On The South African, Dr Chris McCready explains how the system works and how it is changing the medical field.
“This technology determines the dimensions for the surgical cuts to the bone surfaces, so that the best sized implanted joint components can be selected for each patient, and the placement and alignment of the implanted components can be planned in advance.”
“During the operation, the robotic-arm system provides detailed visual, auditory and tactile feedback to the surgeon, which helps to enhance surgical precision in positioning and aligning the knee implants.”
Dr McCready was responsible for controlling the robotic system. This new method is highly beneficial for patients as it determines the surgery beforehand and offers a faster recovery time after the fact.
“Benefits for patients that have been noted in outcomes recorded internationally for this advanced surgical option include the achievement of a better balanced and more natural-feeling implanted knee, less post-operative pain and quicker recovery time.”
This is the future of medicine, and it is looking great. Doctors and robotics could change the way surgery is done and how people recover. What are your thoughts?