St. Joseph Medical Center is hosting a series of free, virtual Robotic Knee Replacement Seminars in 2021. They have invested in the NAVIO Surgical System, a cutting-edge platform that provides robotic assistance in knee replacement surgery. Robotic assistance enables surgeons with accuracy and precision – important factors in determining the long-term success of the surgery.
Registration for the online events can be found here: https://stjosephkc.com/webinars/
When the pain in your knees has become a pain in the neck to live with, you know you’re ready to discuss knee-replacement surgery. The good news is if you’re a candidate for traditional knee replacement surgery, then you’re also a candidate for robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery, and you can expect a better experience in every way. A customized fit, better balance, quicker recovery time, and longer-term satisfaction. It’s a leaping bound forward.
“This is a game changer,” says Scott M. Abraham, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Joseph Medical Center who specializes in the Navio ™ robotic-assisted knee replacement surgical system. “Think of it as a 3-D mapping system of a patient’s individual knee. The sophisticated software allows us to place the components more precisely and accurately to achieve a better fit for each patient. These less invasive techniques mean less trauma on the knee joint, resulting in better outcomes as we mobilize patients sooner with faster recovery times.”
As an industry leader in the region, Dr. Abraham performs hundreds of these surgeries annually, utilizing the Navio ™ technology in partial or total knee replacements.
“Any candidate for traditional knee replacement is also a candidate for robotic-assisted,” Dr. Abraham adds. “And the results continue to be exciting. We see patients often become more active than they were before they experienced knee problems—even participating in sports you would not expect, such as tennis and snow-skiing.”
So how do you know when you’re ready for knee surgery? Dr. Abraham explains:
“When patients suffer from knee pain due to worn cartilage from age, arthritis, or injury, and when conservative measures have failed such as cortisone or joint-lubricating injections or anti-inflammatories, and when the knee pain is interfering with daily activities, that’s when we discuss knee replacement.”
Meet Pearl Magee
Pearl Magee of Greenwood, Mo. just celebrated her 70th birthday in February of 2021. She was already having knee issues when she worked at a bone and joint clinic in Overland Park before she retired at age 65. At that time, she was considered too young for knee replacement surgery.
“I tried all the shots and did all the therapies, but nothing worked, and I got no relief,” Magee says.
Despite the ongoing pain, she was determined to stay active. She and her husband went to the gym every other day where they walked on the indoor track, rode stationary bikes, and lifted weights.
“My husband has Parkinson’s, so we knew we needed to keep exercising and keep going,” Magee says. “My son was actually the first to tell me about robotic surgery because he works in I.T. for a medical group. I already knew I needed surgery, so I said let’s go for it.”
On Nov. 13, 2019, Magee underwent a partial knee replacement on her right knee using the Navio ™. The next year, she had a full knee replacement using Navio ™ on her left knee. Both surgeries were performed by Dr. Abraham at St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City.
“I had a really good experience with no problems,” Magee says. “The hospital staff were all very kind and courteous and took really good care of me.”
She chose to do her physical therapy at a location nearer her home, where she was diligent to participate three days a week for approximately three months. She stresses the importance of being patient with the process and following through with the therapy to aid in recuperation, along with staying active to soften any scar tissue.
Magee says she has already recommended Dr. Abraham to several of her friends and has no regrets about having the surgeries.
“I feel so much more stable, especially on stairs, and I’m no longer worrying that my knees will give out, and I will be lying flat on the floor somewhere.”