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Physicians Surgery Center is First Tennessee Ambulatory Surgery Center to have Robotic Orthopedic Surgery

Many patients having knee replacement surgery at the Physicians Surgery Center are experiencing less pain and an improved recovery because of a new robotic procedure being used by orthopedic surgeons who practice at West Tennessee Bone & Joint Clinic, P.C.

When Bone & Joint Clinic orthopedic surgeons began using the NAVIO robotic-assisted surgery for total and partial knee replacements in July, the Physicians Surgery Center became the first free-standing, physician-owned ambulatory surgery center in Tennessee to offer robotic-assisted orthopedic surgery.

“Robotic-arm assisted total and partial knee arthroplasty treatments are associated with decreased pain and improved early functional recovery,” said Dr. L. David Johnson, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at West Tennessee Bone & Joint Clinic, P.C.

The hand-held NAVIO Surgical System, which is manufactured by Smith & Nephew, a global medical technology company, offers two important benefits for people undergoing a knee replacement procedure – greater accuracy and no exposure to CT radiation, Dr. Johnson explained.

• First, it helps your surgeon create a highly individualized plan that is specific to the unique shape and motion of your knee.
• The second benefit is the advanced technology in robotic assistance that helps your surgeon precisely place and align the implant in your knee.

“Each knee replacement surgery is unique, based on the patient’s knee anatomy and the implant used,” explained Dr. J. Douglas Haltom, a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon at West Tennessee Bone & Joint. “Research shows that implant alignment is a crucial factor in better long-term outcomes.”

"The NAVIO system provided me with robotic assistance for precise and efficient implant placement,” Dr. Haltom added.

The NAVIO system is used for both partial and total knee replacement. In partial knee replacement, supporting tissue and ligaments that help stabilize the knee are spared and only the damaged portion of the knee is replaced. This means that healthy cartilage and bone remain intact to help your knee joint move smoothly with the prosthetic implant. Patients with osteoarthritis in only one area of their knee may be candidates for partial knee replacement.

In total knee replacement, the entire knee joint is replaced with a prosthetic implant designed to replicate the shape, motion and stability of your natural knee joint. Total knee replacement is one of the most common procedures performed in all of medicine, with over 600,000 performed in the U.S. every year. Ninety percent of people who receive a total knee replacement experience a dramatic decrease in knee pain, and an improvement in their ability to perform daily activities.

  “The introduction of robotic assistance should have knee replacement candidates feeling very confident about the future of knee surgery,” said Dr. Jason Hutchison, who is also a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at West Tennessee Bone & Joint Clinic. “I believe this technology has great promise and will eventually be used in many orthopedic surgical procedures.”

(July 2018)