Kettering Health Dayton is the first in the region to offer innovative Stryker Mako robotic technology for joint replacement. For people suffering from knee or hip pain, daily activities like walking can put immense stress on their bodies.

As the population ages, more and more people are requiring hip or knee replacements.

Local orthopedic surgeons are offering patients a technologically advanced joint replacement procedure tailored to each patient’s unique anatomy. To tailor each procedure, the surgeons are using Stryker’s Mako Robotic Arm-Assisted System for total knee, partial knee, and total hip replacements.

Prior to surgery, a CT scan is taken of the joint to generate a 3D virtual model of the patient’s unique anatomy. The 3D model helps the orthopedic surgeon see things he or she can’t typically see with an x-ray alone.

This additional information helps the surgeon determine the optimal size, placement and positioning of the implant.

Throughout the procedure, Mako provides real-time data to the surgeon. This allows the surgeon to continuously assess the movement and tension of the new joint and adjust the surgical plan if desired.

In the operating room, the surgeon guides Mako’s robotic arm to remove the arthritic bone and cartilage from the knee or hip. A virtual boundary helps the surgeon stay within the area defined in the surgical plan.

“We have seen great patient outcomes with the Mako System,” says Dr. Chad Weber, an orthopedic surgeon who performs joint replacements with the Mako System at Kettering Health Dayton.

“Patients have a quick recovery, less swelling, less pain, and less trauma to the soft tissue. It’s exciting to be able to offer this technology that allows us to place a hip or knee replacement in more of a normal position, making it feel more like a normal joint.”