An Aberdeen hospital has completed its 100th joint replacement procedure using a “pioneering” robotic arm.
The Stryker Mako has been in use at Albyn Hospital since last August, assisting with operations to hips and knees.
Worth more than £1 million, the technology helps surgeons to access to the joints requiring replacement without damaging any of the tissue surrounding it.
As a result, it means patients have less post-op pain and are more likely to get back to an active lifestyle faster.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Martin Mitchell said: “Mako allows us to perform joint replacements with more accuracy than with conventional techniques.
“This should reduce complication rates and I believe it will help to improve the lifespan of the joint replacement.
“Patients undergoing Mako-assisted joint replacements have reported less pain and better early function post-operatively.”
Albyn Hospital, which is run by private healthcare firm BMI, was the first in Scotland to offer procedures using the technology.
In recent months, Covid-19 restrictions have prevented any elective operations from taking place, including hip, knee and partial knee replacements.
Instead it was assisting the NHS by providing urgent cancer care for patients in need.
Because of this, the hospital said it had taken “longer than anticipated” to reach the 100-case milestone with the Mako equipment.
There are over 700,000 people in Scotland living with some form of arthritis which results in pain, problems with reduced mobility and an impaired quality of life which can eventually lead to the requirement of a hip or knee replacement.
