Virtua Joint Replacement Institute Launches Robotic-Assisted Knee Replacement Technology

The Virtua Joint Replacement Institute (VJRI) has introduced an innovative total knee replacement technology that spares healthy bone and ligaments and allows for precise and personalized surgical planning. A new surgeon-controlled robotic-arm assisted technology now enables Virtua’s surgeons to perform total knee replacements that provide highly accurate alignment and placement of implants. Prior to this development, the technology had been used for partial knee replacements and hips only.

“This new technology gives us the ability to create a patient specific 3-D model to pre-plan the knee replacement,” explains Scott D. Schoifet, MD, FACS, FAAOS, FAAHKS, Medical Director of the Virtua Joint Replacement Institute. “Every patient is unique and this technology enables us to customize the joint replacement for the patient’s anatomy. We are now able to preview the alignment in all three planes and consider key anatomic landmarks even before we begin surgery. Once surgery begins, the robotic arm guides us exactly along the roadmap created by the 3D imaging.”

Dr. Schoifet and Jeremy J. Reid, MD, of VJRI played an integral role in adapting this technology to the quad-sparing technique for knee replacement. “We are proud to have been involved in this development. The Virtua Joint Replacement Institute has had a long history in the advancement of joint replacement technology, such as with the quad-sparing total knee replacement.”  

 
The Institute is known as the “home of quad-sparing knee replacement.” As of the end of 2016, VJRI had performed over 6,000 minimally invasive, quad-sparing knee replacements and almost 2,000 minimally invasive hip replacements. The Institute also provides hip preservation by a surgeon with fellowship training in a procedure for younger patients who suffer from congenital abnormalities. And, its focus on patient care, quality and overall experience resulted in a 99% patient satisfaction rating for the last four years as determined by HCAHPS, (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems). The Institute is also nationally ranked by US News & World Report.

In addition to Drs. Schoifet and Reid, the Institute’s entire team is certified to perform these procedures. The Virtua Joint Replacement Institute team includes: Karim A. Elsharkawy, MD; Rajesh K. Jain, MD; Gregory G. Klingenstein, MD; Manny D. Porat, MD.

 

March 7, 2017