MDNews - South of Boston

"We can adjust the placement of any of the components of the implant before we do any cutting of the bone," explains Dr. Dabuzhsky. "This gives us the ability to see in 3-D images what it is going to look like, how it is going to perform and how it is going to line up. "Whatever we don't like, we can correct beforehand, and then we can see what it will look like in the corrected ver- sion. Only when everything lines up exactly to the surgeon's satisfaction do we lock the information into the computer. Then, while the surgeon is doing the work on the bone, he follows the path he has designed. The computer will not allow you to go outside the parameters you have set up." Use of the robotic arm during the surgical procedure allows the surgery to be performed through a smaller incision, which results in a faster recovery time and reduced risk of infection. According to Dr. Dabuzhsky, most patients, assuming they are physically capable, can go home the day after surgery. "Standard joint replacement involves more guesswork than computer-assisted surgery, which we've been using for several years," Dr. Dabuzhsky says. "Now, robotic-assisted procedures offer an even higher level of precision." Options for Knee Replacement At Quincy Medical Center, Dr. Dabuzhsky uses MAKOplasty for nearly all of his partial knee and total hip replacements and the Praxim system for total knee replacements. The use of MAKOplasty not only increases the accuracy of these procedures, but may also enable more partial knee replace- ments to be performed in cases where, prior to the advent of this technology, patients may have had no choice but to undergo a total knee replacement instead of the less invasive partial replacement. MAKOplasty partial knee resurfacing is an innovative treatment option for adults living with early- to mid-stage osteoarthritis in the medial, patellofemoral or lateral compart- ments of the knee. During the procedure, only the diseased portion of the knee is resurfaced, sparing the patient's healthy bone and surrounding tissue. An implant is then secured in the joint to allow the knee to move smoothly again. Patients who are not candidates for a partial knee replace- ment have the option of having a total knee replacement using the Praxim system. Quincy Medical Center recently became the first hospital in Massachusetts to offer this procedure. "Similar to the MAKOplasty procedures, this technology allows us to make adjustments before we start to work on MDNEWS.COM ■ MD NEWS South of Boston | 7 Quincy Medical Center orthopedic surgeon Leonid Dabuzhsky, M.D., explains treatment options to a patient. The RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System provides the surgeon with patient- specific, 3-D modeling for presurgical planning, as well as real-time visual, tactile and auditory feedback during the MAKOplasty procedure.

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