Orthopaedic surgeon Sean D Toomey discusses the value of robotic surgery and how it can be used to elevate the operative room efficiently
As modern medicine evolves, technological advances are changing practice across the treatment landscape and boosting the quality of care for patients. For specialists in interventional orthopaedics, as well as for our colleagues in urology, gynaecologic oncology, urogynaecology and many other fields, robotic surgery stands out as a key exemplar of that progress. As an early adopter of this strategy, I have seen the value it can add in the areas of patient-reported satisfaction and outcomes, as well as orthopaedic surgeon satisfaction, due to the enhanced knowledge and precision execution afforded by the technology, in addition to its ability to elevate operative room efficiency.
But due to the novelty of these systems, hesitancy by some about trying them, and challenges to training due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, robotic technology has not yet saturated orthopaedic practice. For those of us committed to sharing and teaching this strategy, these obstacles raise questions about how best to roll out robotic surgery so that it reaches all surgeons who are interested, allowing them to benefit as quickly as possible.
Perhaps not surprisingly in this time of medical innovation, I have found that applying a separate but synergistic technology significantly increases one’s ability to reach and instruct colleagues who are eager to learn more about robotic surgery and see it demonstrated. Through a live-from-the-operating-room broadcast technology, I’m able to offer education anytime, anywhere about the Mako SmartRobotics™ program, one of several alternative technologies to become available to orthopaedic surgeons over the past couple of decades. By providing detailed visuals and allowing me to converse with observers as if they were in the room with me, the Avail System vastly increases the number of doctors and medical device representatives I can reach while reducing time spent travelling.
This is promising news for our orthopaedic surgery field as it grows to embrace new strategies capable of improving the precision, efficiency, and efficacy of our surgical engagement, ultimately leading to an enhanced ability to change the lives of our patients for the better.
New technology sparks new advantages
Practice-changing technological advances in orthopaedics are nothing new; like all medical specialties, the field is built on innovations that were, at one time, revolutionary. A prime example goes back to 1962, when Sir John Charnley introduced “low-frictional torque arthroplasty,” [1]