Mobility Improves Following Robotics-Assisted Knee Surgery

Gainesville, Florida, retiree Kim Slattery loves walking her Siberian huskies, Madigan and Mingo, around her neighborhood.

Her energetic dogs require individualized attention during their daily excursions because of their size.

“I can only walk one at a time because they think I’m a sled,” Slattery, 66, laughed.

Along with her dog-walking workouts, Slattery’s active lifestyle includes exercising and playing golf, while managing slight tendonitis in her knees. In the winter of 2023, intense pain in her left knee forced her to stop her activities.

“I always stayed pretty active,” she said. “It got to the point where I could hardly walk.”

X-rays in March 2023 showed Slattery had started developing osteoarthritis, and an MRI revealed a complex meniscus tear in her left knee.

“Instead of going right to a knee replacement, we went and cleaned up the tearing in the cartilage in her knee,” said Slattery’s orthopedic surgeon Tristan Altbuch, MD. “I think from her X-rays and from her functional level, and the amount of pain that she was having, a knee replacement at that time wasn’t warranted.”

Over the next six months, the arthritis worsened in Slattery’s knee. Osteoarthritis causes the deterioration of cartilage in joints, resulting in bones rubbing against each other, leading to pain and limited movement. This type of arthritis develops in the hips, knees and hands most frequently.

Constant pain made it difficult for Slattery to complete household chores and affected her daily routine. She relied on over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications to sleep at night.

“I couldn’t golf. I was pretty limited. I couldn’t walk my dogs anymore. I was limping everywhere I went. It totally affected my social life,” Slattery said. “[Arthritis] really didn’t bother me until I tore my meniscus. I could barely walk. It hurt so bad.”

Patient Opts for Robotics-Assisted Procedure

After consulting with Dr. Altbuch, Slattery opted for a robotics-assisted total knee replacement on Nov. 16, 2023, at an ambulatory surgical center (ASC).

“Her knee joint spaces continued to narrow and compress against each other,” Dr. Altbuch said. “That led to her having more pain, significant enough to interfere with activities and daily living.”

Every year, approximately 790,000 knee replacement procedures are performed in the United States. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons estimates these procedures will increase to 3.5 million annually by 2030.

“Once I had that [cartilage] removed, it progressed pretty fast to bone-on-bone,” Slattery said. “I knew I was looking at a total knee eventually, but I didn’t think it would be that fast.”

Surgery consideration depends on the patient’s past treatments and level of pain. Treatments may include anti-inflammatory pain medications, icing the joint, injections or modifying activities like trying low-impact walking instead of high-impact jogging or running.

“Knee replacements really aren’t for people who have [lower pain levels of] two or three. The best results are in patients who have severe pain,” Dr. Altbuch said. “This is a big operation. It’s a big undertaking. It’s changing the knee joint permanently. We think for people with severe arthritis it’s making it better.

Dr. Altbuch used a robotics platform for Slattery’s knee replacement procedure. The system uses a CT scan of a patient’s joint to develop a personalized surgical plan. During the procedure, the surgeon guides a robotic arm to remove arthritic bone and cartilage from the knee and replaces it with prosthetic components called implants.

Patients may experience less swelling and faster recovery with a robotics-assisted procedure but still encounter post-operative knee pain.

“The hardest thing for patients is you have to move it when it hurts the most,” Dr. Altbuch said. “It does require a great deal of commitment from the patients to push through that first couple of weeks, which are the toughest.”

Days after surgery, Slattery started physical therapy.

“You can’t let your knee stiffen, so you’ve got to work it. Therapy is tough, and I went twice a week,” she said. “I saw my X-ray, and my X-ray looked perfect. I just knew it was all up to me now to put in the work to get it going again.”

After three months of hard work, Slattery completed her physical therapy and resumed regular activities including walking, standing and climbing stairs.

Six months after her total knee replacement, Slattery bikes, golfs and walks her dogs with her husband. She enjoys life again with her new knee.

“I’m pain free,” she said. “I have no pain.”

Schedule an Evaluation during Arthritis Awareness Month

May is Arthritis Awareness Month. Arthritis is the leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S., impacting more than 53 million adults. By 2050, cases of osteoarthritis are projected to increase more than 74 percent for knees, 48 percent for hands and 78 percent for hips.

If you are experiencing chronic pain due to arthritis, contact your orthopedist, who will evaluate your symptoms. There is no cure for arthritis, but your doctor may suggest at-home pain management options like hot or cold therapies and massage, physical therapy or even surgery.

“I would definitely recommend a total joint, if they’re having the symptoms I had,” Slattery said. “Why wait around when you’ve got a solution to fix it?”

If you are advised to have surgery, consider our ASCs for your orthopedic treatment. Factors determining whether patients are suitable for outpatient surgery include their age, existing medical conditions and the support they receive at home.

ASCs offer patients a more comfortable environment at a lower expense, convenient parking, shorter wait times and a decreased ratio of patients to nurses. Patients are sent home on the same day as the procedure to recuperate.

“Rapid recovery protocols help patients to get through these operations better. The quicker you can get people moving, the better for that patient’s recovery,” Dr. Altbuch said. “Ambulatory surgery centers are designed for rapid recovery.”

Before deciding on any treatment plan for your chronic pain, request an appointment with an orthopedist for an evaluation.

This article is designed for educational purposes only. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health concern or disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health concern, you should consult your healthcare provider.