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Dubai hospital conducts first robotic-assisted knee surgeries

Dubai - The artificial intelligence in knee replacement adds precision and accuracy in performing the procedures.

A Dubai hospital announced that it has successfully conducted the first two robotic-assisted orthopaedic surgeries in the region involving partial and total knee replacements.
At a Press briefing on Wednesday, Mediclinic City Hospital said the AI (Artificial Intelligence) medical procedures were conducted by orthopaedic surgeons Dr. Ali Al Belooshi and Dr. Saeed AlThani.
An Emirati national, Ahmed Al Rais, 47, was the first patient who had partial knee surgery on January 8 after suffering from knee osteoarthritis for two years. Another patient, who was not identified, had a total knee replacement surgery.
"I am very happy that I was able to receive such high-quality care in my own city. I was able to move just a few hours after the surgery," Al Rais told reporters.
Al Rais, a father of five kids and works as security officer at Silicon Oasis, said before the operation he could barely walk for a few hundred metres. He learned of the AI-assisted surgery from Dr. Ali Al Belooshi back in November last year.
He was hesitant at first to undergo a robotic-assisted orthopaedic surgery but was eventually convinced after reading several medical literature on AI and precision medicine.
Al Rais said he was able to walk after a few days although there were some pain at night after the first few days of the surgery on his left knee.
Al Rais will undergo eight post-operation therapy sessions and hopefully next year he will be able to play his favourite sport, football, again. All expenses for his medical procedure were covered by his health insurance.
The other patient is also expected to make full recovery following an operation procedure involving Navio Surgical System that was created by Smith & Nephew "to achieve the precise positioning of the knee implant based on each patient's unique anatomy," according to Mediclinic City Hospital.
Dr. Al Belooshi said: "Using a robotics-assisted hand-piece such as the NAVIO Surgical System enables a surgeon to plan the surgery accurately intraoperatively, position the implants, and reduce the risk of errors during the procedure, while decreasing the length of time it takes for a patient to recover.
"The future of health and science is going to revolutionize the way surgeons like myself work, as technology like this will help us lead in research and education when it comes to the science of knee replacement surgery. Also we can provide this cutting edge technology to our patients so they do not need to travel abroad seeking such services," he added.
According to Dr. AlThani, "the artificial intelligence in knee replacement adds precision and accuracy in performing patient specific procedures, which will in turn improve the patient's satisfaction with his knee surgery."
The Navio Surgical System provides robotic assistance through an advanced computer programme that relays precise information about the patient's knee to a robotics-assisted hand piece used by the surgeon during the procedure.
During the medical procedure, the surgeon can remove the damaged surfaces of the knee, balance the joint, and position the implant with greater precision.
At the Press conference, Dr. Rolf Hartung, medical director at Mediclinic City Hospital, said Mediclinic Group will continue to align with the UAE strategy for artificial intelligence by investing in other future AI tools that will be implemented throughout the hospital.
angel@khaleejtimes.com