Jon Edgington, MD, an orthopedic surgery and joint specialist with the Community Care Network in Hobart and Valparaiso, Ind., recently performed the region's first two hinged knee replacements using Stryker's Mako robot.
Dr. Edgington connected with Becker's to discuss how the robot is improving patient care in Northwest Indiana and the trends he is watching heading into 2024.
Question: How will gaining a Stryker Mako robot change patient care in your region?
Dr. Jon Edgington: Robotic joint replacement aids in placement of components and helps eliminate outliers as far as component positioning. Robotic surgery allows for three-dimensional planning in advance of the planned surgical date. On the day of surgery, we can fine-tune the plan and very accurately execute the final plan.
Q: What has the learning curve been like for your team when it comes to robotic procedures?
JE: The learning curve has been minimal. There is some more work for the initial setup of the robot before the procedure starts. Once the robot is ready to go, the actual procedure flows very smoothly. Robot surgery allows us to advance through surgery with confidence that each step along the way we are getting things perfect.
Q: Does your system have plans to acquire additional robots anytime soon?
JE: We feel that technology in joint replacement is the way of the future and as things grow could certainly see the need for additional technology to help our patients. There can be significant up-front and recurring costs with robotic surgery.
Q: What other orthopedic trends are you keeping an eye on heading into 2024?
JE: Technology in joint replacements is something that I and others feel aids in reproducibility and accuracy. I think the interest in technology lies mainly in the ability for rapid recovery and same-day discharge in centers like ASCs. The push towards rapid recovery and same-day discharge in ASCs is only growing and will continue to grow in 2024.