Colin Looney, M.D., one of twelve surgeon partners at Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center, was the first at the center use robotics-assisted technology to complete an anterior total hip replacement– also the first procedure of its type done in an ASC in Tennessee. A seasoned orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and a former college wrestler, Looney shares credit for the success of the procedure with his surgical team and two other surgeons who “coached” him to perform the anterior total hip procedure several years ago.
While Looney has been using the MAKO Smart Robotics system for nearly five years to perform hip and knee replacement surgeries, the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center recently opened and installed the new technology, opening the door to use robotics to treat appropriate patients in the ASC setting.
“This patient was ideally suited for the procedure,” Looney explains. “He is a healthy 59-year-old with no other risk factors such as cardiac disease or diabetes, his anatomy was well-suited for the anterior approach, and he had a really bad hip due to severe osteoarthritis.”
Looney believes the combination of excellent teamwork and cutting-edge technology are enabling the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee Surgery Center to meet its goal of providing superlative quality of care and outcomes with every procedure completed at the center.
“In this case, two important trends came together,” Looney says. “The anterior approach to total hip replacement – which I prefer because in the correct patient, it can offer an accelerated rehabilitation – and the use of robotics technology to dramatically improve the precision and accuracy of the procedure.”
Looney says he now uses the MAKO Smart Robotics system on all of his total hip replacement surgeries because the robot helps ensure precise calibrations for leg length and hip offset and also guides the team to optimal angles for positioning the implant.
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