Partial and Total Knee Replacements
We understand that knowing what to expect from your joint replacement experience is important to you. As you are reading through this material, please reach out to your orthopedic surgeon to discuss if you have additional questions.
Each patient is unique and can experience joint pain for different reasons. It’s important to understand the reason for your knee pain so you can understand the treatment options available to you. Pain from arthritis and joint degeneration can be constant or come and go, occur with movement or after a period of rest, or be located in one spot or many parts of the body. It is common for patients to try medication and other conservative treatments to treat their knee pain. If you haven’t experienced adequate relief with those treat
ment options, you may be a candidate for partial or total knee replacement, which may provide you with relief from your knee pain.
How Mako Partial Knee Replacement Works
Mako SmartRobotics™ is an innovative solution for many suffering from painful arthritis of the knee. Mako uses 3D CT-based planning software so your surgeon can know more about your anatomy to create a personalized joint replacement surgical plan. This 3D model is used to preplan and assist your surgeon in performing your partial knee replacement.
In the operating room, your surgeon follows your personalized surgical plan while preparing the bone for the implant. The surgeon guides Mako’s robotic arm within the predefined area, and Mako’s AccuStop™ technology helps the surgeon stay within the planned boundaries that were defined when the personalized preoperative plan was created. By guiding your doctor during surgery, Mako’s AccuStop™ technology allows your surgeon to cut less by cutting precisely what’s planned1 to help protect your healthy bone.2
It’s important to understand that the surgery is performed by an orthopedic surgeon, who guides Mako’s robotic arm during the surgery to position the implant in the knee joint. Mako SmartRobotics™ does not perform surgery, make decisions on its own or move without the surgeon guiding it. SmartRobotics™ also allows your surgeon to make adjustments to your plan during surgery as needed.
The robotic partial knee replacement is a treatment option for adults living with early- to mid-stage osteoarthritis that has not yet progressed to all three compartments of the knee. Depending on where the arthritis affects the knee, patients may have an implant inserted in any of the following areas:
How Mako Total Knee Replacement Works
Mako SmartRobotics™ is an innovative solution for many suffering from painful arthritis of the knee. Mako uses 3D CT-based planning software so your surgeon can know more about your anatomy to create a personalized joint replacement surgical plan. This 3D model is used to preplan and assist your surgeon in performing your total knee replacement.
In the operating room, your surgeon follows your personalized surgical plan while preparing the bone for the Triathlon Total
Knee implant. With over a decade of clinical history, Triathlon knee replacements are different than traditional knee replacements because they are designed to work with the body to promote natural-like circular motion.1-4
The surgeon guides Mako’s robotic arm within the predefined area, and Mako’s AccuStop™ technology helps the surgeon stay within the planned boundaries that were defined when the personalized preoperative plan was created. By guiding your doctor during surgery, Mako’s AccuStop™ technology allows your surgeon to cut less by cutting precisely what’s planned5 to help protect your healthy bone and preserve soft tissue.6-9
It’s important to understand that the surgery is performed by an orthopedic surgeon, who guides Mako’s robotic arm during the surgery to position the implant in the knee joint. Mako SmartRobotics™ does not perform surgery, make decisions on its own or move without the surgeon guiding it. Mako SmartRobotics™ also allows your surgeon to make adjustments to your plan during surgery as needed.
Important Information
Knee replacement is intended for use in individuals with joint disease resulting from degenerative and rheumatoid arthritis, or avascular necrosis.
Knee joint replacement is intended for use in individuals with joint disease resulting from degenerative, rheumatoid and post- traumatic arthritis, and for moderate deformity of the knee.
Joint replacement surgery is not appropriate for patients with certain types of infections, any mental or neuromuscular disorder which would create an unacceptable risk of prosthesis instability, prosthesis fixation failure or complications in postoperative care, compromised bone stock, skeletal immaturity, severe instability of the joint, or excessive body weight.
Like any surgery, joint replacement surgery has serious risks which include, but are not limited to, pain, infection, bone fracture, change in the treated leg length (hip), joint stiffness, hip joint fusion, amputation, peripheral neuropathies (nerve damage), circulatory compromise (including deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the legs)), genitourinary disorders (including kidney failure), gastrointestinal disorders (including paralytic ileus [loss of intestinal digestive movement]), vascular disorders (including thrombus (blood clots), blood loss, or changes in blood pressure or heart rhythm), bronchopulmonary disorders (including emboli, stroke or pneumonia), heart attack, and death.
Implant related risks which may lead to a revision of the implant include dislocation, loosening, fracture, nerve damage, heterotopic bone formation (abnormal bone growth in tissue), wear of the implant, metal and/or foreign body sensitivity, soft tissue imbalance, osteolysis (localized progressive bone loss), audible sounds during motion, reaction to particle debris, and reaction to metal ions. Hip and knee implants may not provide the same feel or performance characteristics experienced with a normal healthy joint.
The information presented is for educational purposes only. Speak to your doctor to decide if joint replacement surgery is appropriate for you. Individual results vary and not all patients will return to the same activity level. The lifetime of any joint replacement is limited and depends on several factors like patient weight and activity level. Your doctor will counsel you about strategies to potentially prolong the lifetime of the device, including avoiding high-impact activities, such as running, as well as maintaining a healthy weight. It is important to closely follow your doctor’s instructions regarding post-surgery activity, treatment and follow-up care. Ask your doctor if a joint replacement is right for you.