Robotic-assisted Surgery in Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: Learning Curves and Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) significantly impacts patients' quality of life, and when this disease affects only one compartment of the knee, it is effectively treated with Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty (UKA). In this surgical technique, the damaged compartment of the knee is replaced with an implant normally made with metal and polyethylene. Nowadays, this procedure can be performed using two approaches: conventional or robotic-assisted surgery. This project aims to study the impact of the inclusion of the CORI Robotic System in UKA surgeries. The main goal is to analyze the learning curve of the surgeons when adopting this technology in terms of surgical time. The analysis of this curve allows to study if this technological advancement is safe for the patients, even when surgeons are learning how to use the robotic system. Secondary objectives include the comparison of radiological and functional outcomes between conventional and robotic assisted UKA surgeries. The study has been conducted at the Orthopedics Surgery and Traumatology Department of the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona. All the phases involved, from the selection of patients to participate in the study to the discussion of the results, are detailed in this project.