Computer Assisted Surgery

Tremendous advances have been made in joint replacement that makes it a viable option for a greater number of people than ever before. Over the past four decades joint replacement has been proven to relieve severe joint pain and restored joint function in over 90% of patients undergoing the procedure.⁷

During a joint replacement procedure, your surgeon will strive to ensure that everything is aligned properly. Accurate alignment of the hip or knee components is critical to the overall function of your new joint,^1,2 and it also plays a role in helping your joint feel healthy again, and helping the joint replacement to potentially last longer. Computer-assisted technology has made it possible for your orthopaedic specialist to navigate joint replacement procedures with a level of accuracy so precise it may improve the results of your surgery.¹

Potential Benefits of Computer-Assisted Surgery

There are several potential benefits for those who have computer-assisted surgery with their total joint replacement:

• Designed to help your surgeon place joint replacement implants with precision, which
• May increase the life of your replacement¹
• Reduces the risk of dislocation and revision surgery¹
• Results in greater stability and range of motion^3,4
• Helps improve the overall function of your joint replacement⁴

Computer-assisted surgery may allow for less-invasive surgical techniques, which have several other potential advantages, including:

• Reduced blood loss during surgery, which lessens the need for a blood transfusion⁸
• Faster recovery⁷
• Reduced length of your hospital stay⁶
• Shorter post-operative physical rehabilitation⁷
• Less scarring^5,7

How does it work?

Stryker Navigation technology uses special tracking devices, providing your surgeon a comprehensive understanding of your joint mechanics in the operating room (OR). Armed with this information, your surgeon can make adjustments within a fraction of a degree, helping to ensure your new joint has the stability and range of motion needed for a successful replacement. Specifically, the technology uses the latest advancements in science and computer engineering to make the procedure more accurate than joint surgery without it.¹ As the surgeon moves an instrument within your joint, special infrared trackers calculate its position and wireless instruments instantaneously transfer the data to a computer in the OR. This information is then displayed on a monitor as an interactive model of the anatomy or “blueprint” that supplies the surgeon with all the angles, lines and measurements of your unique anatomy. The surgeon will then replace the diseased bone with new, artificial joint components often called prostheses or implants. Joint implants are engineered to replicate a normal, healthy joint.

With certain techniques, your surgeon may use pins that hold trackers around the incision site of your joint. These temporary placeholders give the computer key information and may make the surgery even more exact, but it does mean the possibility of additional scarring at the pin points. Emerging technologies and alternative techniques may reduce the number of incisions and therefore reduce scarring.