Orthopedic Robotic Surgery

Each patient is unique and can experience joint pain for different reasons. It’s important to talk to us about the reason for your joint pain so you can understand the treatment options available to you. Pain from arthritis and joint degeneration can be constant or come and go, occur with movement or after a period of rest, or be located in one spot or many parts of the body. Currently, St. Francis - Emory Healthcare is the only hospital in the region to offer this technology.

How does orthopaedic robotic surgery work?

Robotic technology is a solution for many suffering from painful arthritis of the knee or hip. The surgeon uses 3D CT-based planning to know more about the patient's anatomy to create a personalized joint replacement surgical plan. This 3D model is used to pre-plan and assist your surgeon in performing your joint replacement procedure.

Your surgeon follows your personalized surgical plan in the operating room while preparing the bone for the implant. The surgeon guides the robotic arm within the predefined area. The technology helps the surgeon stay within the planned boundaries defined when the personalized pre-operative plan was created. By guiding your doctor during surgery, the technology allows your surgeon to make fewer, smaller, and precise incisions to help protect your healthy bone.

It's important to understand that the surgery is performed by an orthopedic surgeon, who guides the robotic arm during the surgery to position the implant in the knee and hip joints. The robot does not perform surgery, make decisions on its own, or move without the surgeon guiding it. Your surgeon is also able to make adjustments to your plan during surgery as needed.