Robotic surgery is a technique for performing surgery using small instruments combined to a robotic arm. The surgeon utilizes a computer to control the robotic arm. Dr Abhishek Patil is the most experienced Orthopaedic doctor provides the best Robotic Surgery in Kharadi, Pune.
- Robotic knee replacement has early benefit over the conventional knee replacement ( only first 6 weeks) in terms of early recovery and minimal advantage in terms of pain
- In terms of clinical function after 6 weeks, there is no advantage whatsoever.
- When compared with conventional knee replacement, Robotic surgery offers NO LONG TERM BENEFIT TO THE PATIENT.
- The so called improved alignment with Robotic surgery, DOES NOT translate into a better outcome for the patient, as Experienced surgeons get their alignment accurate in most cases, within the scientifically proven range of acceptability (+- 3 degrees)
- The FALSELY CLAIMED advantages of
- Smaller Incision
- Less bone loss
- Less blood loss
- No Physiotherapy required
- ARE NOT PROVEN IN LITERATURE and are merely used as tools for marketing
- The final verdict as on Jan 2024 is
AT BEST ROBOTIC SURGERY IS NOT INFERIOR TO CONVENTIONAL KNEE REPLACEMENT HOWEVER ITS SUPERIORITY IS YET TO BE PROVEN
- With no scientifically proven advantage, the additional costs of Robotic surgery as on today is unjustified.
Last but not the least,
Robotic knee replacement has it’s very well defined and independent set of complications, with higher incidence of
- Fractures around knee following surgery
- Higher incidence of Quadriceps muscle injury As compared to conventional knee replacement, which is not spoken of much so as to preserve the Image of Robotic surgery and keep the patients unaware.
In the end, to conclude, Robotic surgery for knee replacement is an evolving technology which till date has not conclusively proven it’s superiority over conventional knee replacement ( with a data of over 10 years) and will need to be validated with scientific data in years to come. A wise and Experienced surgeon still remains the cornerstone in getting a good result in hip or knee replacement and patients need to be aware and choose their surgeon wisely without falling prey to marketing gimmicks.
