First in India, 87-year-old undergoes bilateral knee replacement on the same day

Dr. Neeraj Adkar and his team at Pune’s Saishree Hospital perform the surgery using CUVIS, a fully automated joint replacement system.

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 227: In a first in India, an 87-year-old person underwent bilateral knee replacement surgery with the most advanced and fully automated robot on the same day at Saishree Hospital of Pune.

Dr. Neeraj Adkar, Managing Director & Chief Robotic Joint Replacement Surgeon at Saishree Hospital in Pune, and his team performed the bilateral (both knees) robotic total knee replacement surgery on Sudhakar Panchwagh, 87, in a single sitting using a CUVIS-Fully Automated and Active Robotic joint replacement system.

The octogenarian’s primary complaint was a pain in both knee joints for the past 15 years. He was experiencing immense pain while walking and using stairs, which made even completing his daily routine activities a very painful task. He has suffered from deformity in both knees for the past ten years.

“We performed the bilateral knee replacement surgery on Mr. Panchwagh with the CUVIS robotic system, which uses CT scan images to create a patient-specific 3D bone model and perform virtual joint replacement surgeries simulations. With sub-millimetre dimensional accuracy, it aids in achieving the best post-surgery outcomes. The result is that Mr. Panchwagh could walk with assistance in less than 24 hours of the surgery. He also recovered well and was discharged in less than three days,” said Dr. Neeraj Adkar.

The CUVIS joint robotic technology provides advantages such as less tissue trauma and thus less associated blood loss, faster recovery, early hospital discharge, and the best possible implant positioning with maximum cutting accuracy.

Dr. Adkar said that while Mr. Panchwagh was medically fit for undergoing the bilateral knee replacement surgery, he said patients should not wait for so long for the surgery.

“It is better to undergo such surgeries at the right age instead of waiting till you are almost immobile. The recovery process takes more time with advancing age, and hence it is better to undergo surgery as soon as the problem is diagnosed,” he added.