PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — New advancements in medical technology have arrived at a Treasure Coast hospital. Florida Coast Medical Center performed its first robot-assisted knee surgery today, marking the beginning of a new trend for the region and promising more precise surgical outcomes.

The patient, John Michael Cook, a former tennis player needing another knee surgery, jumped at the chance to have the robot-assisted procedure. Traditional knee reconstruction can be risky, as one mistake can cause massive setbacks. Cook expressed excitement about the technological upgrade.

“I thought of, well, Lee Majors, I thought it was going to be, like, the bionic man, you know? And now I really feel I’m going to be a bionic man, you know, having two bionic knees,” Cook said.

Surgeries using robots are not yet common; the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that only 15% of all knee surgeries currently use robotic assistance. Given that the technology has only developed in the past decade, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dan Jones explained the benefits.

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“This is allowing me to put into the computer program exactly what numbers I want to put in to get the balance I want, and that allows me to execute, um, what I want to do that I’m not able to do based upon my human error and failure,” Dr. Jones said.

The operating room looks mostly the same, except for ROSA, the two-part machine assisting Dr. Jones. One machine cuts, while the other uses a camera to aim precisely where the surgeon wants it. Dr. Jones clarified that he remains in complete control throughout the procedure.

“That’s one of the things I love about this robot. I’m the surgeon. I still do the great majority of the cases. What it’s involved in is allowing me to set the parameters by which I want to put the total knee in place, and then it brings the cutting block right where I want it to be,” Dr. Jones explained.

The surgery was a success and took less than an hour. Palm Beach Medical Group expects to significantly ramp up the number of robot-assisted surgeries in the near future. Medical experts suggest that robots could be used in as many as 70% of these surgeries by 2030.

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