Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital is bringing in a robotic assistant for knee replacement surgeries.
An “exciting” new robotic assistant is set to help surgeons in Rotorua navigate knee replacement surgeries.
In two weeks, surgeons at Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital will be assisted by a Robotic Orthopaedic Surgical Assistant (Rosa) in the operating theatre.
The hospital is one of 10 Southern Cross hospitals to receive a ROSA.
A hospital spokeswoman said with Rosa, special x-rays were sent overseas and converted to a 3D image surgeons could use to make precise cuts. This resulted in less trauma and blood loss and patients could often go home the next day.
Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital surgeon Dr Arpad Konyves will be one of two doctors using Rosa. His first procedure with the assistance of the robot would take place in two weeks.
Konyves said he was anticipating operations using Rosa could take “a bit longer” in the beginning.
“It’s going to be a learning curve.”
Konyves said he and other operating theatre staff were learning how to work with the robot.
“There are sensors that you have to make sure can see. That’s part of the learning curve is how to position it, how to get the assistant out of the way so they don’t block [Rosa’s] view and you can do your job.”
Dr Arpad Konyves will perform his first knee replacement surgery assisted by Rosa in two weeks' time. Photo / Maryana Garcia
But Konyves, who had been a surgeon at Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital for 12 years, said the results would be worth the effort.
“What we expect is that the position of the implant will be more accurate and that translates to a better outcome for the patient.
“As we get more used to it [the procedures] won’t take longer than a normal knee replacement. It will help us make it more accurate.”
Konyves said Rosa could be especially helpful in complicated knee replacement cases.
Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital general manager Stephanie Thomson said the hospital’s surgeons carried out between 80 to 100 knee replacement operations each year.
Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital general manager Stephanie Thomson.
Thomson said Rosa would be used in all knee replacement surgeries where it was medically appropriate, regardless of the patient’s funding source.
The hospital’s x-ray team also had to have specialist training to get the images Rosa would need.
“With a robotic knee replacement they get special x-rays sent to Montreal and converted into a 3D image,” Thomson said.
“The surgeon can then look at that 3D image and navigate his way through the knee replacement so that the cuts that he or she makes will be exact.
“What that means is that there’s less trauma for the patient because it’s done smoothly and quickly with less blood loss. They can often go home the next day and the literature tells us they report it feels more like a normal knee.”
Thomson said robotic navigation for knee joint replacements had rapidly evolved internationally and locally, with five companies developing robot-assisted devices.
Tim Woodfield, University of Otago Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Musculoskeletal Medicine professor of regenerative medicine.
University of Otago Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine professor of regenerative medicine, Tim Woodfield, said robotic surgery was taking off everywhere in the world.
“In New Zealand, it’s relatively well-used and a number of main centres have robotic surgery capability for orthopaedic procedures such as knee replacement.”
But Woodfield said robots like Rosa were mainly tools at the surgeon’s disposal.
“Robotic surgery doesn’t mean that the robot does everything. What the robotic assistant provides are visual aids and accurate alignment verification,” Woodfield said.
“For knee surgery, it’s important to get the alignment correct. It has to be bang on. The software and the robot help guide the surgeon to get the knee implant placement and alignment as accurate as possible but the surgeon makes all the decisions.”
Woodfield said that just as with any tool, not every surgeon would want to use a robotic assistant.
“These robotic surgery systems are expensive and experienced orthopaedic surgeons may not need them. But they can help simplify the surgical process and reduce the chance of getting misalignment. Ultimately that benefits the patient as the implant could last longer.”
A Southern Cross Healthcare spokesperson said the cost of the Rosa unit at Rotorua Hospital could not be disclosed due to “commercial sensitivity”.
Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.
Correction:
This article previously stated that Southern Cross Rotorua Hospital was the third hospital in the Southern Cross network to get a ROSA for knee replacement surgeries. The Rotorua Daily Post has since been informed that it is one of 10 Southern Cross hospitals to receive a ROSA.
