Dr. Anthony Melillo, Bay Oaks Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine.
Dr. Anthony Melillo explains how robotic-arm assisted surgery is used for partial knee resurfacing and total hip replacement, and what it changes for the patient.
What the robotic arm does
The system builds a three-dimensional plan of the joint before surgery, and the robotic arm helps the surgeon hold to that plan during the procedure. The surgeon performs the operation; the arm constrains it to the plan.
Why it matters
More precise implant alignment and less disruption of the surrounding healthy tissue are the goals — which is what drives the recovery differences patients notice.
The plan is built before the incision, and the arm helps hold the surgery to it.
