Photo courtesy Tomball Regional Medica

The MAKOplasty robotic arm is used in partial knee and total hip replacement procedures. The robotic program allows doctors to make smaller incisions and more precise placement of the implants.

Tomball Regional Medical Center now possesses two robotic surgery platforms—one of which is used in general surgery and the other for partial knee and total hip replacement—and has successfully performed an operation with each one. The operations make TRMC the first hospital in Northwest Houston to do so in both instances.

"We have moved into robotic surgery in a significant way by adding the most advanced surgical platform for general surgery, gynecology and urology in the world with the addition of the da Vinci XI Intuitive Surgical Platform," CEO Tom Jackson said. "The XI is the latest version of that surgical platform, and it is right here in Tomball."

Dr. Ata Ahmad, TRMC general surgeon, performed a cholecystectomy, or gall bladder removal, on Aug. 1 using the hospital's da Vinci system. Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery that uses computer-assisted technology to aid in surgical procedures.

"We are one of only two hospitals in the Houston area that is using this advanced robotic system to perform surgery, and we are one of only four hospitals in Texas to have this latest technology," Jackson said.

Typically, surgeons operate on patients through large incisions; however, robotic surgery allows the surgeon to work from a computer console and use robotic arms to make small incisions designed to reduce scarring, recovery time, post-operative pain and risk of infection, Jackson said.

From the console, the surgeon can guide robotic arms with attached instruments and a small camera through the incisions to the surgical area. The surgeon can view the camera feed on the computer console and has the capability of magnifying the images of organs and other structures in the body by up to 10 times. The surgeon also uses the console to transmit finger movement to the instrument tips on the robotic arms, which then mimic the movement of the surgeon's hands and wrists, providing the surgeon with ambidextrous capability and surgical precision.

"Minimally invasive surgery is already the standard of care for many surgical procedures," Ahmad said. "The surgical robot takes minimally invasive surgery a step further allowing surgeons a greater range of motion, enhanced dexterity and greater precision and control."

Robotic surgery has also rolled over into the field of orthopedics, Jackson said. With the addition of the MAKOplasty robotic arm, TRMC now has the capability to perform partial knee and total hip replacement procedures.

On Oct. 13, Dr. David Navid, an orthopedic surgeon, performed the first robotic partial knee surgery at TRMC using the MAKOplasty technology. Much like the da Vinci technology, Navid said the MAKOplasty allows for precise implant placement, which results in reduced pain and recovery time for the patient.

"Compared with conventional partial knee and total hip procedures, MAKOplasty offers increased accuracy to optimize surgical result that will enhance a patient's return to daily activities," Navid said. "I believe it will be more popular in the future."