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 Michael O’Connell
At 80 years old, Michael O’Connell of Kansas City, Mo. doesn’t let his knee replacements keep him from climbing ladders and crawling around in attic spaces. As an Insulation & Energy Statistical Analyst, O’Connell enjoys staying active, and his occupation requires that his knees cooperate. Although he had undergone his first traditional knee replacement 15 years ago, he was procrastinating on getting the second one and was unsure whether he would be a good candidate for the newer robotic procedure or if his age would be a limiting factor.
In hindsight, he jokes that it was the free sandwich at the informational seminar that did the trick.
“They lured me in with that free sandwich,” he jokes. “I had no idea at the time how unfounded my anxieties were, but I’m so glad I did the surgery. I received such attentive and compassionate care from all the staff. Dr. Abraham is just the neatest guy and so sharp. I call him the magical knee mechanic in cowboy boots.”
As a retired U.S. Marine, O’Connell says that his surgery cost was negligible, and he highly recommends the procedure and the physical therapy he received at St. Joseph Medical Center.
“My wife took me to the appointments onsite, which I think helped me recuperate quicker than if I did the therapy at home. They know what they’re doing there,” he says, “plus, their cafeteria’s biscuits and gravy are the best.”
St. Joseph Medical Center and Dr. Abraham are hosting a patient seminar on Friday, March 26 at Noon virtually. To register for the event, or to learn more about who may benefit from a robotics-assisted knee replacement procedure, please visit the St. Joseph Medical Center NavioSeminar page.