Flowood,  MS-  Dennis R. “Denny” Bruns, President and CEO of River Oaks Hospital, announced today that it is the first hospital in Mississippi to perform MAKOplasty, a new, minimally invasive partial knee resurfacing procedure used to treat early to mid-stage osteoarthritis of the knee.  MAKOplasty, powered by the RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic system, offers a more precise and consistent result for partial knee resurfacing. 

MAKOplasty can be performed on the medial (inner) portion of the knee, the patellofemoral (top), or the lateral (outer) portion of the knee. It can also be performed as a bicompartmental procedure on both the medial and patellofemoral portions of the knee.  Most MAKOplasty  patients experience a shorter hospital stay, quicker rehabilitation and a smaller scar.  In addition, many are able to return to an active lifestyle within weeks of the procedure.

Dr. Trevor Pickering said, “This is another tool that potentially allows for greater accuracy when doing a partial knee replacement which may lead to better, long-term results.”

The opportunity for early intervention is important as OA is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 

Through its innovative use of technology, MAKOplasty takes partial knee resurfacing to a new level of precision.  When performing MAKOplasty, surgeons at River Oaks Hospital utilize the RIO which features a tactile robotic arm and a 3-D virtual patient specific visualization system.

This system provides the surgeon a pre-surgical plan that details the technique for bone preparation and customized positioning using a CT scan of the patient’s knee. During the procedure, the system creates a three-dimensional live-action, virtual view of the patient’s bone surface and correlates the image to the pre-programmed surgical plan.  As the surgeon uses the robotic arm, its tactile, acoustic and visual feedback limits the bone preparation to the diseased areas and provides for more optimal implant positioning and placement for each individual patient.  

Bruns said, “River Oaks Hospital is proud to bring state of the art technology to Mississippi as well as the southeast.  But, more importantly, we have skilled surgeons and staff members who operate the equipment and care for our patients with the upmost courtesy and respect.  Our ratings prove it”

River Oaks Hospital is one of twenty-nine hospitals in the United States to perform MAKOplasty.  River Oaks was recently rated #1 in Mississippi for overall orthopedic services and joint replacement for 2010 by HealthGrades.