Navio® Robotic Total and Partial Knee Replacement
The Navio system is a tool your surgeon uses to perform total and partial knee replacement on patients suffering from early to mid-stage osteoarthritis. The system uses advanced planning software and robotic assistance to help your surgeon perform the procedure with great accuracy and precision.
What Is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis, also known as OA, occurs when there is a breakdown in the cushioning cartilage between joints, such as the knee. When this cartilage wears down, bones begin to rub against each other, causing pain, swelling, stiffness and damage to other parts of the knee. While the exact cause of OA is unknown there are several factors that may increase risk of developing OA
What Are the Treatment Options?
While there is no cure for osteoarthritis of the knee, there are multiple treatment options to manage pain and that may delay the progression of the disease. Talk to your doctor; he or she may prescribe exercises, weight loss or medication.
If osteoarthritis has progressed to an advanced stage and is causing severe pain, surgery may be the best option. Instead of masking the pain or accommodating limited mobility, a partial knee replacement may be able to restore knee function and allow osteoarthritis sufferers to return to the activities they love.
What Is Partial Knee Replacement?
Partial knee replacement is an alternative to total knee replacement for patients with early to mid-progression osteoarthritis. For these patients, damage is generally limited to one compartment of the knee. The damaged portion of the bone is removed while the ligaments vital for knee stability are spared, leaving healthy cartilage and bone intact. Partial knee replacements may offer several benefits over total knee replacements, including:
- Less pain
- Quicker rehabilitation1
- Lower risk of complications
- Shorter hospital stay
Traditional partial knee replacements have been challenging procedures because orthopedic surgeons had to place implants by relying on mechanical guides and feel. In this method, cutting blocks guide a surgical saw in removing the diseased bone and creating room for an implant. In recent years, advanced surgical approaches involving robotic assistance have provided a new level of accuracy.4
What Is a Navio-Assisted Partial Knee Replacement?
A partial knee replacement with Navio provides robotic assistance to your surgeon through an advanced computer system that relays precise information about your knee. Navio does not perform the procedure; rather it assists the surgeon to present patient-specific information for a unique surgical plan, and provides feedback so that the surgeon can precisely place the implant.
How Does the Navio Surgical System Work?
Anatomical data collected during the procedure is used to generate a 3-dimensional model of your knee, which the surgeon uses to precisely plan your partial knee replacement. With Navio, proper implant placement and knee balance, crucial to a successful surgery, are achieved virtually before any cut to the bone is made. When your surgical plan is set, Navio’s robotic-assistance guides the surgeon to accurately resurface the diseased bone for the implant.
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Want to Learn More?
For more information on osteoarthritis visit The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
1 Hall et al., “Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty (Alias Uni-Knee): An Overview With Nursing Implications,” Orthopaedic Nursing, 2004; 23(3): 163-171.
2 Brown, NM, et al., “Total Knee Arthroplasty Has Higher Postoperative Morbidity Than Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: A Multicenter Analysis,” The Journal of Arthroplasty, 2012
3 Bolognesi M, et al. Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty and Total Knee Arthroplasty Among Medicare Beneficiaries, 2000 to 2009. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013 Nov;95:e174(1-9).
4 Lonner J., Smith J., et al., High Degree of Accuracy of a Novel Image-free Handheld Robot for Unicondylar
Knee Arthroplasty in a Cadaveric Study. Clin Orthop Relat Res 2014 Jul 8. Epub 2014 Jul 8