From an interview with
Dr. Chad Thurman
McLeod Orthopaedics

Robotic-assisted surgery has advanced many surgical procedures. McLeod Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Chad Thurman describes using robotic-assisted knee joint replacement.

Here is a summary of Dr. Thurman’s comments:

Robotic-assisted joint surgery gives us the accuracy that we don’t have with regular surgery. Prior to coming to McLeod, I did a fellowship that specialized in robotic-assisted joint replacement and had the opportunity to perform more than 700 cases using robotic-assisted surgery. Using the robot, patients benefit from less blood loss, less soft tissue damage, fewer opiate pills and less time spent in the therapy clinic, all leading to a quicker recovery.

With the robot, we seek to give people the knee they had prior to their arthritis developing. This is a huge advantage over what we see with traditional instrumentation.

It is important to note that we refer to this as “robotic-assisted joint surgery.” In this case, the robot is a tool for us, but my hands or the surgeon’s hands are on both the patient and on the equipment that gives us real-time information during surgery.

All patients eligible for knee replacement, as deemed by the patient and their surgeon, can be great candidates for robotic-assisted surgery. This is not equipment that is only reserved for the young, active patient. This technology is available to all patients who need knee replacement surgery.

The robotic system I use is designed for total knee replacement. We also have a separate computer navigation system for total hip joint replacement already in use at McLeod Regional Medical Center.

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