Authors’ Disclosure Statement: Dr. Dungy reports that he is a paid consultant to Think Surgical, Inc. Dr. Netravali is an employee of Think Surgical, Inc.
Schulz and colleagues15 reported on 97 of 143 consecutive cases performed from 1997 to 2002. Technical complications were described in 9 cases. Five of the reported complications included the BMM pausing cutting as designed for patient safety, which led to re-registration, and slightly prolonged surgery. The remaining 4 complications included 2 femoral shaft fissures requiring wire cerclage, 1 case of damage to the acetabular rim from the milling device, and 1 defect of the greater trochanter that was milled. In terms of clinical results, they found that the complications, functional outcomes, and radiographic outcomes were comparable to conventional techniques. The rate of femoral shaft fissures, which had been zero in all other studies with Robodoc, was comparable to conventional technique.
Conclusion
The most significant change in hip arthroplasty until now has been the transition from a cemented technique to a press-fit or ingrowth prosthesis.16 The first robotic surgery was performed in the US in 1992 using the legacy system upon which the current TSolution One was based. Since then, the use of surgical robots has seen a 30% increase annually over the last decade in a variety of surgical fields.17 In orthopedics, specifically THA, the results have shown that robotics clearly offers benefits in terms of accuracy, precision, and reproducibility. These benefits will likely translate into improved long-term outcomes and increased survivorship in future studies.
