NEWBERRY — During a celebration of employees, volunteers and board members at Newberry County Memorial Hospital, the hospital introduced staff and community members to NAVIO, new technology in total and partial knee replacements.

“New technology that performs robotic assisted total knee replacement and partial knee replacements. NAVIO is able to map out the patients anatomy intraoperative, so we can implant specifically and precisely to that patient, so every surgery is customized specific to that patient,” said Alison Ryan with the Robotics Team at Smith and Nephew, who created NAVIO. “This provides basically a tool for us to balance the ligaments and place the implant more precisely and limit the surgeons percentage of error.”

During the course of a knee replacement, a surgeon will take the point probe and create the patient’s anatomy specifically on the robot. Once the patient’s anatomy is mapped out, the surgeon will place the implant on the screen before making a cut. The robot will not allow the surgeon to make any cuts outside the plan.

“So basically they cannot make any errors after making the plan. They cut to plan with less than a millimeter,” Ryan said.

NAVIO also allows a knee replacement to be CT and MRI free, Ryan said this makes it a lot easier on the patient and the surgeon can literally see you in your office and the next day conduct the procedure.

“The surgery is about time neutral to manual implantation, but you are getting a better procedure, it is more minimally invasive. So not as many risks for blood clots and things like that because it allows the surgeon to use minimalist instruments,” Ryan said.

Newberry County Memorial Hospital is the first hospital in the midlands to have this technology and has been utilizing it since June.

“Today we are celebrating our employees, our volunteers and our board, everyone who helps make Newberry exceptional. Along with that, we are also showing that the hospital is outstanding in safety quality and patient experience, but also we have the latest and greatest technology and that is introducing the NAVIO robot for knee replacement,” said Bruce Baldwin, CEO of Newberry County Memorial Hospital.

NAVIO allows patients going through knee replacement to have a minimally invasive surgery.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/web1_DSC_0523.jpgNAVIO allows patients going through knee replacement to have a minimally invasive surgery. Andrew Wigger | The Newberry Observer

By Andrew Wigger

awigger@newberryobserver.com

Reach Andrew Wigger at 803-276-0625 ext. 1867 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.