Saint Mary's Hospital Performs Robotics-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty Using the NAVIO Surgical System

WATERBURY, Conn. (October 13, 2020) Dr. Michael Kaplan performed the first robotics-assisted total knee arthroplasty in the Greater Waterbury area in early 2020, using the NAVIO Surgical System. The surgical milestone took place at Saint Mary’s Hospital in March and represents one of the first CT scan-free robotics-assisted total knee arthroplasty procedures using the NAVIO Surgical System in the region.

“With any total knee arthroplasty surgery, final placement of the implant is critical to providing both function and longevity that today’s patients expect,” said Dr. Kaplan. “With the NAVIO system I’m able to see real-time data throughout the surgery that is designed to help place each implant in the optimal location based on each patient’s unique anatomy.”

Bad knees were not a new thing for 69-year-old Michael Cavalieri of Thomaston. An avid racquetball player, he’d been having knee issues for many years. Over the last few years however, he was noticeably slowing down and thought it was time to visit his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Michael Kaplan. They managed the pain for about a year and then in May of 2020, decided it was time.

Dr. Kaplan performed total knee arthroplasty on Michael’s left knee at Saint Mary’s Hospital, using the NAVIO Surgical System. The operation and recovery went incredibly well. So well, in fact that Michael had his right knee done eight weeks later.

“The first surgery went very well, I only needed two pain medications and felt little discomfort,” said Michael. “The second one went even better than the first, if that’s even possible. Everything just advanced a bit quicker.”

Unlike other robotics-assisted platforms, the NAVIO system does not require a pre-operative CT-scan. Instead, the surgeon collects patient-specific data during the procedure to build a 3D model of the patient’s knee. This is used to plan the surgery. To perform the procedure, a handheld robotics-assisted tool (the NAVIO handpiece) is used to position NAVIO-specific cut guides exactly as intended, based on the patient-specific data previously collected. This extra layer of precision and accuracy is designed to enable optimal implant placement for better patient outcomes.

Now, 7 weeks later, Michael says you’d never know he had double knee replacements, “I have 120-degree range of motion. It’s made such a difference. I feel great. Couldn’t have gone better.”

“Michael is an excellent representation of the potential benefits of arthroplasty done with computer navigation,” adds Dr. Kaplan. “It should have knee replacement candidates feeling very confident about the future of knee surgery. I believe this technology has great promise and will eventually be used in many orthopedic surgical procedures.”

Smith & Nephew, the manufacturer of the system, is committed to developing other robotics-assisted surgical applications for the system. In the United States, the NAVIO system has been used in unicondylar knee arthroplasty since December 2012, and patellofemoral arthroplasty since July 2014.

About Saint Mary’s Hospital

Saint Mary’s Hospital is a Catholic, not-for-profit, acute care, community teaching hospital that has served Greater Waterbury since 1909. In 2016, Saint Mary’s Hospital became part of Trinity Health Of New England, an integrated health care delivery system that is a member of Trinity Health, Livonia, Michigan, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation serving communities in 22 states. Licensed for 347 beds, Saint Mary’s is designated as a Level II Trauma Center, offers award-winning cardiac and stroke care and houses the region’s only pediatric emergency care unit. As the leading provider of surgical services in Greater Waterbury, Saint Mary’s was the first to introduce the daVinci® Robotic Surgery System. The hospital’s satellites and affiliates extend from Waterbury to Wolcott, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Southbury, Prospect and Watertown. Visit stmh.org for more information and follow us on Facebook at SaintMarysHospitalCT, Instagram and Twitter at @SaintMarysCT.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma & Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 15,000 employees and a presence in more than 100 countries. Annual sales in 2015 were more than $4.6 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN). For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com.