TRIA Orthopedics offers new robotic knee replacement surgery to patients

ROSA® Knee System combines accuracy and precision of a robotic system with expertise and guidance of a TRIA surgeon

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — TRIA Orthopedics continues its commitment to excellent care and innovation with the use of ROSA Knee System from Zimmer Biomet, a new-to-the-market robotic surgical assistant used for total knee replacement surgery.

ROSA Knee starts with a series of X-rays of the patient’s knee. Those X-rays are used to create a 3D model, which allows the surgeon to tailor the surgery to the anatomy of each patient. While the sample size is small, ROSA knee allows the surgeon to make more precise cuts to the bone, which can potentially lead to faster increases in range of motion, quicker recovery and a greater chance for long-term success.

“The robot allows the surgeon to perform the surgery more precisely,” said Christine Pui, MD, a TRIA orthopedic surgeon. “We can change cuts by as little as one millimeter to achieve exactly what we want.”

Kathy Connelly was the first TRIA patient to have the ROSA Knee total knee replacement surgery. She had developed rheumatoid arthritis in both of her knees so badly that she could hardly walk. Her left knee was replaced in December 2021 in a traditional surgery. Her right knee was replaced in March 2022 with assistance from ROSA Knee. As a patient who has experienced both a robotic-assisted and a traditional knee replacement, Kathy has a unique perspective.

“Each knee had its own little story, each was a little bit different, but I will say that the robotics one did not have what I call a tight-band feeling across the knee. I didn't have that with the right one and I sure did have it with my left one.” Kathy describes the robotic-assisted knee replacement as being less stiff, while noting that both knees are 100 percent better. As for the recovery, “Definitely it was faster recovery with the robotics,” she said.

Robotic technology isn't new to orthopedics. In fact, back in 2006, surgeons performing a partial knee replacement were the first to use robotic-arm-assisted technology. Since then, millions of robotic-assisted procedures have been done on different parts of the body.

“We’ve been waiting for robotic technology to get to the point where it makes sense for our patients – and now it has,” says Der-Chen Huang, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at TRIA and co-physician leader of robot-assisted total knee replacements. “By investing in this technology, we are able to offer a state-of-the-art solution to optimize patient outcomes.”

For more information on ROSA Knee, go to tria.com/robotics. Promotional photos and videos available upon request.