Chances are, you may have heard about hip or knee problems and partial replacements, but you may be unfamiliar with the term MAKOplasty.
MAKOplasty is a partial knee replacement procedure that offers precise and consistent results. This procedure is designed to provide a quick recovery for patients with joint degeneration in only one part of the knee.
Partial and Total Replacements
Oftentimes surgeons feel uncomfortable with the lack of precision involved in a partial procedure, especially if they have the choice to be as precise as possible. With partial knee replacement, surgeons replace only the damaged joint in the knee without compromising the healthy bone and tissue that surrounds it. Partial knee replacements can sometimes be more complicated than total knee replacements, since partial replacements can sometimes lead to more revisions.
What can MAKOplasty do?
The Future of Medicine
The name MAKOplasty comes from the MAKO Tactile Guidance System (TGS) with which the Makoplasty is operated.
This TGS system is the future of medicinal science, featuring a surgeon-interactive robotic arm and visualization technology that allows the surgeon to create a plan for the surgery.
What makes the TGS so amazing is its ability to create a three-dimensional virtual view of the bone surface. The TGS takes the image and compares it with a pre-programmed surgical plan. Then, the robotic arm is used to manipulate the cutting tools inside the knee. The robotic arm feels “weightless” while the surgeon cuts, but changes the feeling if the surgeon gets too close to a surgical boundary.
According to the MAKO Surgical Corp. website, experience “Has shown that the MAKOplasty procedure allows patients to experience a shorter hospital stay, minimal blood loss, quicker rehabilitation and a smaller scar.”
According to MAKO, “many MAKOplasty patients are able to return to an active lifestyle within weeks of the procedure.”
Your physician should communicate the risks associated with MAKOplasty and other treatment options with you.
