Last month Dr. Karkare was on the news in Palm Springs, talking about robotic hip replacement, and here’s the video that was sent to us by the TV station…

Here is the transcript of the video:

Speaker 1: First in the Coachella Valley. You’re watching KMIR TV Palm Springs, where the news comes first.

Reporter: All right, coming up as we continue right here, the newest technology being used for hip replacements. It’s all about the robot a and the doctors, of course.

Reporter: New technology making it easier for surgeons and much easier for patients. Coming up next, because of your health matters.

Reporter: Yes it does. In Your Health Matters tonight, hip replacement surgery, new technology is now making it much easier for patients who have hip pain, and are finding no relief with rest and physical therapy. If surgery is the only option, doctors can now replace hips with pinpoint accuracy.

Dr. Karkare: It’s the robotic arm that helps in the guide the surgeon’s hand.

Reporter: In just the past couple of years, new technology has revolutionized the way surgeons are doing hip replacements.

Dr. Karkare: The robot is telling the surgeon where to make the cuts, and how to place the component inside the bond.

Reporter: The components the doctor is referring to are the socket and the stem. The socket goes into the pelvis.

Dr. Karkare: Take the pelvis.

Reporter: The stem into the thighbone. That, simply put, is a hip replacement.

Dr. Karkare: This surgery’s done for pain.

Reporter: Pain that’s usually caused by arthritis and injury, genetics and sometimes age. While surgery is always the last option, with this latest technology, it’s safer, and patients have a better chance of long term success.

Dr. Karkare: In the past few years, we have had a lot of advances in joint replacement surgery that have made it a very routine procedure.

Reporter: The doctor points out that it’s the accuracy of this procedure that makes all the difference.

Dr. Karkare: It gives me good feedback as to where we planned on placing the components, and then we actually place the components with this robotic arm.

Reporter: Before the surgery, a CAT Scan is done, so doctors can map out a very precise plan.

Dr. Karkare: We know exactly where that stem is going to be placed. We can compare it to our preoperative plan to make sure that it is exactly where we planned on placing the component.

Reporter: In the past, doctors would have to try different size components to see which one might fit the best. With this technology, there’s no guessing.

Dr. Karkare: We know exactly what size we are going to use. We ream to that size, and we put that size component in. Before closing the incision, it gives me a great comfort to know that this is exactly what I planned. If things need to be changed, it can be done now.

Reporter: The doctor also tells me they now have excellent data to show that healthy patients in their eighties, even their nineties do very well with this procedure. For most people, they’re up the same day, and then out of the hospital the next. The key, the doctor says, is to stay active, but at the same time be careful not to abuse the joints.

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