(April 2, 2007 -- Rockville Centre, NY) - A review of robotic total knee replacements performed over a two year period at Mercy Medical Center shows that the computer-assisted procedures resulted in better leg alignment, less likelihood of complicating infection, and a lower failure rate than surgeries performed using conventional techniques.

The key factor in successful total knee replacement is precise placement of the artificial joint so that the patient’s hip and knee line up within three degrees of his or her ankle. Using conventional techniques, the best surgeons achieve alignment within three degrees 70 to 80 percent of the time. It was achieved in all 268 of the computer-assisted robotic procedures performed at Mercy between February 18, 2005 and January 31, 2007. Final post-surgical alignment averaged just under one degree (0.8), and was one or two degrees in all but one of the patients, who was at three degrees.

Typically, the failure rate for knee replacements is three to eight percent per year, and one third of early knee replacement failures, those occurring less than two years after surgery, are attributed to misalignment. There were no failures among the Mercy patients.

Jan Koenig, MD, Director of Orthopedic Surgery at Mercy Medical Center presented the findings last month at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), where a panel of experts who discussed advances in computer-assisted total knee replacement noted that close-to-perfect alignment should translate into longer durability of joint replacements.

It’s estimated that as many as 400,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed in the United States each year. In conventional procedures, a long rod is inserted the length of the femur (the bone above the knee) to determine proper alignment of the artificial joint, and surgeons must drill holes in the bones to position cutting tools. Robotic cutting devices positioned with computer assistance eliminate all that, making the procedure less invasive and reducing the risk of infection. Dr. Koenig, who is president and founder of Orthopaedic Excellence of Long Island, noted that the infection rate in conventional total knee replacement procedures is 1 to 1.5 percent, but among the 268 patients at Mercy there was only one infection (0.37%).

The panel at AAOS projected that some form of computer assistance will eventually become a routine part of total knee replacement. However, at the present time, Mercy Medical Center is one of only 22 hospitals in the country, and the only one in New York State, performing computer-assisted robotic total knee replacements. The procedures are performed using a system called PiGalileoTM, developed and manufactured in Switzerland by PLUS Orthopedics.

About Mercy Medical Center
Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre is a 387-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving the healthcare needs of Nassau County and its surrounding area. Best known for services in maternal health, oncology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopedics, and behavioral health, Mercy is a state-designated Level II Trauma and Stroke Center, site of a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a Bariatric Center of Excellence designated by the American Society of Bariatric Surgery, and the regional home of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Mercy also is the recipient of the 2007 Orthopedic Care Excellence Award from HealthGrades, marking the third year in a row that the nation’s leading healthcare ratings company has given Mercy’s program its top orthopedics honor.

For information and physician referrals, call: 516-62MERCY or visit http://mercymedicalcenter.chhsli.org.

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For immediate release, contact: Mel Granick
Phone: 516-705-2618
E-Mail: mel.granick@chsli.org