The Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic along with River’s Edge Hospital announce 500th robotic assisted knee replacement

ST. PETER, MN — River’s Edge Hospital is recognizing the completion of the 500th total knee replacement surgery using Stryker’s Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery. In December 2019 River’s Edge Hospital became the first critical access hospital in southern Minnesota to offer robotic-arm assisted total knee replacements with Stryker’s Mako System.

The use Mako System at River’s Edge is part of OrthoEdge, the total joint replacement program offered by The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic in Mankato and River’s Edge Hospital in St. Peter.  Since the formation of the program and partnership in 2014, more than 6,000 joint replacement procedures have been performed  and River’s Edge Hospital has earned the designation of an Orthopedic Center of Excellence.

“River’s Edge is very unique in many ways.  Our hospital is one of only seven hospitals in the country that have received designation from DNV as an Orthopedic Center of Excellence.  This designation represents the high quality work and safety of the care that is provided to our patients,” said Paula Meskan, CEO at River’s Edge.  “The fact that a hospital of our size is performing in excess of 100 total joint replacement surgeries per month is amazing.  We have a very strong orthopedic program and partnership between River’s Edge and The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic.  The staff  at both organizations take great pride in the work that is done at River’s Edge.  The use of technology to perform robotic assisted surgery shows that we are working hard to meet our Mission and Vision:  To provide world class care to our patients and to create a hospital model of the future.”

The Mako Total Knee and Total Hip application is a replacement treatment option designed to relieve the pain caused by joint degeneration due to osteoarthritis. Through CT-based 3D modeling of bone anatomy, surgeons can

The Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery System is used at River’s Edge Hospital in total knee and total hip replacements. The surgeon guides the arm for precise shaping of the bone and placement of the implant. The system has been in use since December 2019.

use the Mako System to create a personalized surgical plan and identify the implant size, orientation and alignment based on each patient’s unique anatomy. The Mako System also enables surgeons to virtually modify the surgical plan intra-operatively and assists the surgeon in executing bone resections.

“It’s an amazing feat of what we are doing here at River’s Edge,” said Dr. Kyle Swanson, orthopedic surgeon at The Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic in Mankato.  “Using this technology provides a higher degree of accuracy and helps improve the outcomes for knee and hip replacement patients.”

Dr. Kyle Swanson, orthopedic surgeon at OFC.