MAKO Robotic-Assisted Knee Replacement

The first question patients ask me about MAKO is whether a robot is doing the operation. It is not. What the system does is take the part of knee replacement that has always depended on a surgeon’s judgement in the moment — exactly where each cut falls, exactly how the implant sits — and let me settle it in advance, against a 3D model of your own knee.

How does it work?

The plan comes first. A CT scan is turned into a three-dimensional model of your knee, and the operation is planned on that — not on an average knee, and not on a judgement made mid-procedure.

The arm holds me to it. I operate as I always have, with the MAKO robotic arm keeping the instrument inside the boundary we set. The damaged bone and cartilage come out; the healthy tissue around them stays.

Then the implant goes where the plan said. Alignment is what decides whether a replaced knee feels like a knee or like hardware — and it is also what decides how long the implant lasts.

What difference does it make?

• Accuracy — placement precise enough to matter for function and for how long the implant lasts
• Less disruption — smaller incisions, so less pain and less scarring
• Quicker recovery — rehabilitation tends to move faster when less was disturbed
• Built for your knee — planned on your anatomy, not a standard template

If you are weighing up knee replacement surgery, it is worth asking about — come in and I will tell you honestly whether your knee is a good candidate.