Operating Room to Living Room in One Day or Less

When you’re suffering from chronic knee or hip pain, you don’t want to spend days in the hospital and months recovering. Thankfully, new technology available to surgeons at Beaufort Memorial can have you on your feet and on the road to recovery in record time — even in just one day!

“As an orthopedic surgeon, my goal is to help my patients get back on their feet as quickly as possible,” says Dr. H. Kevin Jones, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Beaufort Memorial Orthopaedic Specialists. “Thankfully, continuous improvements in surgical technology and techniques have allowed me to do just that.”

Following over two years of highly successful knee replacements with leading-edge Mako SmartRobotics™ technology, surgeons at Beaufort Memorial now use Mako for hip replacements, among the most common elective orthopedic procedures in the U.S.

Read More: Finessing Knee Replacements With a Robotic Arm

Providing Added Precision

Surgeons use Mako robotics to replace joints with pinpoint precision, allowing for better alignment, more comfort and a longer-lasting joint.

“When you hear ‘robotic surgery,’ it’s important to understand that the robot does not perform the actual surgery, make decisions on its own or move without the surgeon guiding it,” says Dr. Edward Blocker, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Beaufort Memorial Orthopaedic Specialists. “I tell my patients that it’s still joint replacement surgery and I’ll still be your surgeon. But, the Mako provides the perfect combination of robotic precision and human knowledge, experience and touch.”

Clinical studies have shown the robotic surgery system improves outcomes by allowing the surgeon to customize the placement and alignment of the implant components to the patients’ unique anatomy, providing more natural movement of the joint and increasing its longevity.

“The Mako robot allows me to move ahead with full confidence that I’m placing the joint perfectly,” says Dr. Vandit Sardana, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Beaufort Memorial Orthopaedic Specialists. “It takes away the margin for error.”

Read More: Are Robots Taking Over?

Performing Advanced Surgical Techniques

Beaufort Memorial surgeons are also using “muscle-sparing” techniques, like the direct superior and direct anterior approach to improve hip replacement outcomes. With these techniques, the surgeon avoids having to cut and then reattach the key muscle group that enables walking and bending. Most patients have significantly greater mobility and range of motion immediately following surgery and recover and return to full function faster than with traditional hip replacement.

These new, more precise approaches assist in the surgeons’ ability to replace some patients’ joints in the morning and discharge them the same day, getting them up and on their feet and on their way where they can fully recover in the comfort of their own home.

“Moving from an inpatient to an outpatient surgery isn’t for everyone, but patients who are healthy and who have family and other support measures in place have the same outcomes as patients who stay in the hospital,” says Beaufort Memorial Joint Replacement Coordinator Dana Aiken. “Today, a majority of our patients have an overnight stay, but up to 30% are discharged the same day.”

Setting Patients Up for Success

In late 2020 the team at the Beaufort Memorial Joint Replacement Center created the Preoperative Assessment Clinic to thoroughly screen for and address any issues that may complicate the surgery and/or recovery to ensure the best possible outcome for the patient.

“The Preoperative Assessment Clinic has no doubt contributed to our ability to move toward same-day joint replacements,” Aiken says. “The extra level of screening and intervention has increased the comfort level of the surgeons and the team in discharging patients more quickly.”

Beaufort Memorial is one of only four hospitals in South Carolina to earn The Joint Commission’s advanced certification for total hip and knee replacement. This certification is a testament to the level of patient safety and quality of care provided by the surgeons and staff.

“Patients get better faster with better motion and better stability,” Dr. Sardana says. “The results for our patients are clinically better than ever.”

To learn more about joint replacement at Beaufort Memorial, register for a Solving Hip and Knee Pain seminar or discuss your options with an orthopedic specialist.