ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) — Cayuga Medical Center’s orthopedic surgeons are using robotic-assisted technology for total and partial knee replacements and revision knee joint surgery.

The CORI Surgical System provides patients with prosthetic knee replacements that are matched and aligned to their joint anatomy for successful outcomes.

Advanced camera technology, better surgical tools, and improved mapping software to build 3D models of the joint are used, resulting in faster surgical procedures compared to previous systems which CMC has used since 2019.

CMC surgeons use a hand-held instrument to gather information on the patient’s knee anatomy to create a detailed, customized digital model of the patient’s joint. The model is made without exposing a patient to the potentially harmful radiation of a CT scan that other robotic systems use, or the cost of an MRI, which some insurers do not cover, says Deidre Blake, MD, who heads the hospital’s orthopedics program.

The robotic technology brings an unparalleled level of accuracy and precision to partial and total knee replacement surgery and joint surgery revisions that were typically available at larger hospitals many miles away from Ithaca. Dr. Blake, along with Ashley Anderson, MD, and Benjamin Donahue, MD, are the three board certified surgeons at Cayuga Orthopedics who use CMC’s robotic systems for knee joint procedures.

“Having this advanced technology allows more patients in our community to stay right here for their knee replacements. Our orthopedic program has a record of excellence equal to or better than many large medical centers,” says Dr. Blake, who led the efforts to start the CORI and NAVIO programs at CMC.

When implants are customized to the patient and placed with precision and accuracy, the patient will walk without pain – often for the first time in years – and the prosthetic joint will have more than a 90 percent chance of lasting 10 or more years. National registries that track replacements show robotic-assisted surgery for knee joint replacement is more accurate than traditional surgery. There is data to suggest there are fewer failures of robotic-assisted knee replacements than with standard replacements. This may reduce failure of the joint and the need for revisions.

Dr. Deidre Blake is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. She serves on the medical staff of Cayuga Medical Center and can be reached at Cayuga Orthopedics at (607) 272-7000, where you can also get additional information on the joint-replacement robotics program at Cayuga Health.