Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital to offer robot-assisted surgery for people who need hip and knee replacements

The Mako® robot highlights the hospital’s ambition to provide local people with access to best-in-class healthcare technology, ensuring they receive a high-quality patient journey. 

“The arrival of the Mako® robot here at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital demonstrates the important role robotic technology plays in advancing healthcare and our hospital team’s ambition to ensure that our patients with joint conditions have access to the best possible experiences,” says Tony Yates, Health System Director at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital. “We and our expert consultant surgeons take a personal approach by treating everyone as an individual with their health challenges and aspirations,” he adds. 

The Mako® technology works by using a robotic arm to remove damaged bone and cartilage and precisely positions the new hip or knee implant, with consultant surgeons creating a bespoke 3D model using the Mako® software based on a patient’s anatomy.

Mr Andrew Shepherd, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital, comments: “The Mako® robotic system is the ultimate tool in helping me perform the most accurate hip or knee replacement possible. As the surgeon, I am always in control, but the robot helps me make a good operation even better.

“The robotic arm is programmed with the patient’s unique anatomy from a CT scan. The robotic arm then guides me when performing the joint replacement. This reduces the risk of a hip or knee replacement being inserted incorrectly which can lead to poor function, pain or early failure. I have been replacing joints for twenty years and this is the most exciting new development in surgery I have seen.”

Mr Jon Waite, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital, explains: “The Mako® robot is at the forefront of technology. I can use it to assist in optimising outcomes for my patients having total and partial knee replacements. I’m very excited that I am now in a position to be able to offer this at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital. 

“By combining pre-operative scans with specific location points in the knee joint, marked during the operation, I can use the robotic arm to deliver exceptionally accurate bone cuts to ensure the prosthetic components are positioned in exactly the right place for each individual patient, which should give the best chance of a good long-term outcome.

“The Mako® robotic system has already been shown to reduce soft-tissue damage during surgery resulting in less pain and bleeding post-operatively, thus making rapid recovery easier.”

The new Mako® robot at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital joins Mako® robots at Nuffield Health’s Bournemouth, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Cambridge, Exeter, Cardiff & Vale and Woking hospitals.  

Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital is part of the wider Nuffield Health healthcare charity, with a network of connected hospitals, fitness and wellbeing centres, healthcare clinics and workplace wellbeing services across the UK.

Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital specialises in most aspects of healthcare including orthopaedic care such as joint care; eye care; general surgery; men’s health and women’s health.

Last updated Monday 21 August 2023

First published on Monday 21 August 2023