The knee is the joint where the upper and lower leg bones meet. Anatomically speaking, the knee is where the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) meet along with the patella (kneecap). The knee is one of the human body’s biggest and most complex joints and is a type of hinge joint. It is important for any form of movement of the human body. 

There are several different reasons for undergoing knee replacement surgery. The most common reason for knee replacement surgery is arthritis, which is the wear and tear on the various surfaces of the knee joint. The joint is also composed of ligaments, tendons, and the meniscus. Knee replacement is also done if a patient has no relief after ACL surgery, which is the surgery of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee joint. Sometimes patients will have several different meniscus tears, in which knee replacement surgery is done. 

Knee replacement surgery is also called Arthroplasty. Before arthroplasty, the surgeon goes through a thorough evaluation called pre-op. The surgeon will go through the medical history of the patient such as previous surgeries, history of infections or chronic diseases, and medications. This will be followed by physical and laboratory evaluation of the body, heart, blood, and other necessary information. In knee replacement surgery, the orthopedic surgeon makes an incision over the knee. Then the kneecap is taken out of the way to access the knee. The surgeon will then resurface the rough edges of the thigh bone, leg bone, and kneecap. The surgeon will also put metallic or plastic caps over your bones which become the new joint. Rods and cutting guides will be placed on the bone surface for proper placement of the cap or implants. With the introduction of new technologies, conventional knee replacement surgery has been transformed into robotic knee replacement. For cost efficiency and specialized treatments, it helps to look for knee replacement in Bangalore as it is one of the best cities in India for such treatments. The two robotic surgeries provided you can find are as follows:

1. Navio Surgical System- In this procedure, the Navio system takes the measurement of the knee. The leg is moved into several positions so the system can evaluate the movement in the joints. After evaluation, 3-D images of the patient’s knee are made. With the help of these 3-D images, the surgeon makes their surgical procedure. It also helps them to choose the type of implant or cap to be used. A specialized handheld cutting tool is used to fine-tune the surgery. It is amazing to see that all these things happen in the operation theatre itself. 
2. Mako Robotic-Assisted Knee Surgery- In MAKO Robotic-Assisted Knee Surgery, firstly a CT scan is done of the knee before the surgery. The 3-D images of the joint, bone structure, and surrounding tissue are made to give the surgeon a complete picture of the area of focus. At the beginning of the surgery, the surgeon will place tracking pins over the knee. The robot will then confirm the positioning of the pins with respect to the 3-D images. The Robot will also confirm the size of the joint and bones. The Robot arm then positions itself over the area of surgery. The surgeon will hold the tool and perform the surgery with it. The robot arm will guide the surgeon throughout the surgery. The Robot will ensure precision to the millimeters while cutting the bone or placing the implant on it.

Advantages- There are various advantages to robotic knee replacement surgery. Firstly, is the accurate reproducibility. Out of total conventional knee replacement surgeries, about 5-10% of patients come back for review with complaints of pain and discomfort usually feeling “unnatural”. The reason is that as humans, the reproducibility of the same result cannot be done each time. Therefore, even a one-degree rotation in the fixation of caps on the bones may cause discomfort. This issue is solved through the robotic knee replacement method as it delivers results with accuracy each time. Secondly, robotic knee surgery causes very little to no damage to the soft tissue around the joint. This is due to Haptic technology where the computer sets a virtual boundary so the robotic arm will not go further than the computer instructed. Thirdly, recovery post-surgery is faster in cases of robotic knee surgery. In conventional knee replacement surgery, recovery takes 3-4 weeks, while in robotic surgery, the same level of recovery is within 2 weeks. Fourthly, since the recovery is faster, less physiotherapy is required post-surgery for patients that have undergone robotic knee replacement surgery.

Robotic Knee Replacement Surgery is still not done by robots alone. The surgeon is still in 100% control of the surgery. The robotic element is an additional surgical tool to enhance the surgery’s efficiency and guide the doctors.