Tufts Medical Center Adds Robotic-Assisted Surgery Platform for Joint Replacements

Tufts Medical Center in downtown Boston has added a robotic-assisted surgical platform for hip and knee replacement procedures, joining a growing number of Massachusetts hospitals adopting the technology, which surgeons say improves implant placement precision compared with traditional manual techniques.

The system uses a pre-operative CT scan to build a three-dimensional model of a patient's joint, allowing surgeons to plan implant sizing and positioning before entering the operating room, then guides instrument placement during surgery based on that plan. Hospital officials said the technology is particularly useful for patients with unusual joint anatomy or prior injuries that complicate standard implant placement.

"The robot doesn't do the surgery, the surgeon does, but it gives us a level of precision in implant placement that's very difficult to match doing everything by feel and by eye," said Tufts Medical Center's chief of orthopedic surgery. "For the right patient, that precision can mean a more natural-feeling joint and potentially a longer-lasting implant."

The hospital has trained several orthopedic surgeons on the new platform so far, with additional training planned for the rest of the orthopedic surgery department over the coming year. Hospital officials said the facility performs more than 1,000 joint replacement procedures annually, a volume that has grown steadily as the region's population ages.

Tufts Medicine has now deployed similar robotic surgery platforms at several of its Massachusetts hospitals, part of a broader system-wide investment in surgical technology the health system says is aimed at staying competitive with the larger academic medical centers downtown.