Current Projects

Prospective randomized study compares Robotically versus Manually Implanted UKA

The primary objective of this study is to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of UKA in three patient groups, one undergoing implantation of an UKA under robotic guidance, one undergoing computer navigated UKA, and one with traditional manual instrumentation.

The patient population will consist of all adult human subjects undergoing a medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty receiving either a robotically assisted UKA or a mobile bearing partial knee arthroplasty at foundation Surgical Hospital from the primary and co-investigators. Data will be collected prospectively and consists of self-reported patient evaluations, clinical evaluations, functional testing and evaluation of radiograph.

Demographic data will be collected from the medical records. These data are part of the routine clinical evaluation of the patient and include patient height, weight, age and gender.

Hospital data will be collected in the hospital regarding daily pain using a standard Visual Analog Scale, narcotics consumption, and patient-controlled anesthesia usage, range of motion upon discharge, assistive device used upon discharge, and hospital length of stay, and discharge to home versus other facility (rehab, skilled nursing home etc).

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is a procedure to replace only one tibiofemoral compartment of the diseased knee, most commonly the medial compartment. MAKOplasty combines the precision planning of patient specific three dimensional modeling and reconstruction with the use of a robotically guided arm. This gives the surgeon absolute control of resurfacing the knee joint according to the pre-operative plan chosen by the surgeon, allowing for consistent precision. Through precise preparation of bone surfaces and inter-component alignment, MAKOplasty offers the possibility of realizing all the potential advantages of UKA while simultaneously alleviating the issues related to poor alignment and technical difficulty. The many potential benefits of UKA include bone preservation, less tissue disruption and better quality clinical results. Resurfacing techniques such as UKA help provide pain relief and restore function for a period of time before osteoarthritis progresses to the point that a total knee arthroplasty is appropriate.

This study is pending IRB approval