Partial knee replacement using a robotic arm used in Ky. for first time; offers hope of longer lasting knees that feel more natural

A partial knee replacement surgery that utilizes a robotic arm was performed for the first time in Kentucky in May, Mark Hansel reports for the Northern Kentucky Tribune.

RIO, Robotic Arm System
(Photo from NKYTribune)

Dr. Matthew Hummel of Commonwealth Orthopaedic Physicians, which serves the greater Cincinnati area, performed the Stryker MAKOplasty partial knee resurfacing procedure at St. Elizabeth Edgewood May 19.

Hummel said "benefits of the minimally invasive procedure are expected to include a more natural feeling post-surgery and improved recovery time," Hansel writes.

“Stryker MAKOplasty allows us to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis at earlier stages and with greater precision,” Hummel said. “Because it is less invasive and preserves more of the patient’s natural knee, the goal is for patients to have relief from their pain, gain back their knee motion, and return to their daily activities.”

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Hummel said the procedure has been "around for several years," and that he has been tracking its progress, including recent results and upgrades in technology, before using it on his patients.

Hansel explains that the procedure is performed using RIO, a highly advanced, surgeon-controlled robotic arm system. The system correlates a pre-surgical plan that was created by using a CT scan of the patient's knee taken before the surgery with a three-dimensional, virtual view of the patient's bone surface during the procedure.

Hummel told Hansel that some patients are "apprehensive about having a robot perform the procedure," but assures them that "I am actually operating and doing all the work, but it is helping me apply the best laser lines and guiding techniques."

In addition to a more rapid recovery, the procedure is expected to result in reduced pain, a smaller scar, minimal hospitalization, less implant wear and loosening, and better motion that feels more natural, Hansel reports.

“If my implants completely match my plan CT scan, I’m hopeful that with today’s technology, we can have knees that last 25 and 30 years,” Hummel said

Hummel has since performed the procedure on at least one other patients at St. Elizabeth Edgewood. It is anticipated that this procedure will be expanded to total hip and total knee replacements, but these procedures have not yet gained the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval.

Student loses 175 lbs. in 14 months after gastric-sleeve surgery

Elizabeth Whitt and Don McNay

Elizabeth Whitt, an Eastern Kentucky University communications major from Richmond, Ky., decided to have gastric sleeve weight loss surgery when she was 19, and now, 14 months later, she has lost 175 pounds, Don McNay writes for The Huffington Post. McNay had the same surgery on Dec. 1 last year and has lost 70 pounds since then. He is writing a book called Project 199: My Business Plan to Lose 175 Pounds because he wants to drop from his original weight of 377 pounds to 199.

While McNay had the surgery at age 55 as a last chance to avoid an early death, Elizabeth had the surgery in college, when most people are not thinking about death. Dr. Derek Weiss at Bluegrass Bariatric in Lexington, Ky., operated on both of them. Weiss said that "doing weight loss surgery on a teenager had been rare before the gastric sleeve became more common as the risk of complications is lower than the other surgeries," McNay writes. Weiss said that "LSG is a tool. It limits the amount you can eat very successfully. But I think all LSG patients who succeed can take most of the credit themselves; they chose what to eat (and drink) and how much to exercise."

Whitt before (above) and after (below) with her health team

McNay talked with Whitt because although he had interviewed many experts already, he wanted to hear from someone who had been through the surgery. Whitt said the surgery has allowed her to be much more energetic and active. McNay asked Whitt how she was dealing with the sudden surge of attention from people who are drawn to success. She said she doesn't pay attention to men who express interest in her now but didn't talk to her when she was overweight. Whitt also noted that her parents did not support her having surgery until she presented them with research showing the benefits.

Michael and Debi Benson, the president and first spouse at EKU, said Whitt babysits their three children. President Benson said, "Debi and I are very grateful for Elizabeth and have marveled at her physical transformation. This change has allowed her inner beauty, which has always been radiant and contagious, to shine through even more."

"It took all of my forcus and courage to have the surgery at age 55," McNay writes. "There is no way I would have undertaken it at age 19. . . . When I weigh in at 199 pounds and hit the same 175 weight loss number that Elizabeth hit, I will say one thing for certain: she has been my inspiration. And my hero." (Read more)

Paducah Baptist and Ashland hospitals 'above average' in Consumer Reports' ratings of hospitals for heart surgery

Baptist Health Paducah
(formerly Western Baptist Hospital)

By Melissa Landon
Kentucky Health News

Consumer Reports has reported ratings of hospitals for heart-valve and coronary artery bypass surgery based on hospitals' reports to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. More than 400 hospitals in 45 states have been rated, based on "medical records showing whether patients survived the procedure and how they fared on other important measures, including complications," the magazine says.

Although more than 1,000 hospitals send data to STS, only 400 allowed it to be shared with Consumer Reports. Of those did, "20 percent (83) were above average, 75 percent (310) were average and 4 percent (18) were below average," the magazine reports. Robbin Cohen, a cardiothoracic surgery professor at the University of Southern California, said the STS has very high standards, so hospitals with average scores do a very good job.

King's Daughters Hospital, Ashland

King's Daughters Hospital in Ashland and Baptist Health Paducah (formerly Western Baptist Hospital) were the only Kentucky hospitals ranked above average for either type of procedure (and in their cases, only for bypasses). King's Daughters recently agreed to a huge settlement with the federal government for doing unnecessary heart procedures.

Four Kentucky hospitals were listed as below average for both procedures: Lourdes Hospital in Paducah and Jewish Hospital, Norton Hospital and Norton Audubon Hospital. Two were listed as below average for bypass and were not listed for valve: Baptist Health Lexington and Baptist Health Madisonville.

Several hospitals near Kentucky were on the list. Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital in Cincinnati was rated below average for bypass and was not listed for valve surgery. In Missouri, Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center and Cape Girardeau's Saint Francis Medical Center were rated below average on both.

In Tennessee, Nashville's Tristar Centennial Medical Center and Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital were below average on both, but Saint Thomas West Hospital, was above average for bypass and below average on valves. In Knoxville, the Univerity of Tennessee Medical Center and its Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center were below average on both, and Parkwest Medical Center was above average on bypass and below average on valve. Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport was below average on both, and Johnson City Medical Center was above average on bypass and below average on valves.

The top hospitals in the nation were Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Cleveland Clinic, which attracts some Kentuckians. To see the full list of ratings, click here.