Hyderabad: In the COVID-era when patients have been postponing their joint replacement surgeries out of fear of infection risk due to longer hospital stays, robotic surgeries is emerging as a safe option that is enabling quicker discharge and faster recovery for knee and hip replacement patients in the state while allowing higher surgical accuracy in comparison to conventional procedure.According to reports, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have the highest number of osteoarthritis patients in India. It is said that 40% of the population over 70 years show osteoarthritis. At a time when the arthritis burden is so high in India that it is said to become the World’s Arthritis Capital by 2025 with 60 million patients, the advent of such technologies like robotics in healthcare has drastically improved patient outcome in joint replacement.Technology is converging with medical science and bringing in tools that are not only improving healthcare delivery but also driving measurable results.
Commenting on the advancements, Dr.Gurava Reddy,Managing Director and Chief Joint Replacement Surgeon at Sunshine Bone and Joint Institute, Hyderabad, said, “Robotics has transformed the global healthcare industry and its impact in surgical space is particularly valuable.One of the challenges with traditional surgery is that our eyes and our hands can simply not be as good as a computer. Roboticarm-assisted technologyallows surgeons to reproduce precise bone cuts for patients, every single time, first on a virtual 3D model and then in the operation theatre.”
Several clinical studies demonstrate that roboticarm-assisted technology allows faster recovery and improved outcomes for patients.“While conventional knee or hip replacement surgeries are known to be effective for over last three decades, robotics technology allows us to achieve up to 100% accuracy. In the last few months, we performed over 200 successful robotics procedures and have witnessed tremendous patient outcomes. Its patient benefits includingsignificantly less post-op pain, minimal scarring, more bone and soft tissue preservation, less blood loss allows faster healing and reduced hospital stay to an average of 3 days. While in conventional surgery, patients require min. stay of 5-6 days depending on their condition.Both faster recovery and early discharge are particularly important in ongoing pandemic situation,” Dr. Reddy added.
Each patient’s bony anatomy is different, and arthritis further tends to alter the diseased joint. In case of a knee or hip surgery, robotic arm-assisted surgerysystem’s software helps create a 3D model of the diseased joint based on patient’s CT scan. The software, then allows creating a personalized virtual surgical plan for each patient, based on their specific disease condition. This planning, done even before entering the operation theatre, helps in deciding the most accurate bone cuts and alignment of implants. The technology allows the surgeon to modify the plan during the surgery, if required. And once the plan is locked, the robotic technology assists the surgeon in executing the bone cuts in operation theatre. The unique Haptic technology ensures that surgeon remains within the virtual boundaries created. Since the robotic arm cannot be physically moved outside the virtual boundary, it enables the preservation of soft tissue. This allows most accurate bone cuts, positioning of implants and protecting any injury to soft tissue.
According to Research and Markets report, the growth of the Indian robotic-assisted surgical market is expected to reach Rs 26 billion in 2024 expanding at a CAGR of 19.8%, in which Orthopedic is estimated to be the fastest-growing application segment, expanding at a CAGR of 25.82% during 2019-24.
