Robotic Arm Boosts Orthopedic Surgery at Huntington Hospital

An  orthopedic surgeon recently used a robotic arm to assist in replacing a patient’s hip at Huntington Hospital.

Dr. Michael Bisogno employed a Mako robotic arm, which is used in hip and knee implants, to replace the hip of a Northport patient.  It was the first surgery at Huntington Hospital to use the device.

The robotic arm, Bisogno said, “provides a much more accurate assesment, and improves accuracy on where to put the implant. It’s main task is stability.”

The robot doesn’t actually perform the surgery, Bisogno said. “My hands are doing everything; The robot holds the drlll and just tells me on the screen” precisely how to align the procedure and calibrates the computer to where the bone is.

Bisogno did his residency at Stony Brook and had a fellowship at Northwell Lenox Hill. He had previously worked with the device during his seven-year career.

Bisogno’s patient, Steve Glassroth, a retired attorney, said he expects to go through about six to eight weeks of rehabilitation from the surgery.

“I have faith in well-trained doctors who have experience with doing the procedure,” he said. “I think technology is wonderful in these kinds of applications, as long as it’s functioning well and they have the experience and are prepared for any glitches. It can even be more accurate.”

He said that the surgery had eliminated “these random shots of pain and spasms.  All that’s gone now,  There’s just the sitffiness that comes from major surgery” as he recovers.

 

Demonstration of a hip replacement with the Mako robotic arm, at the American Hip Institute