The Macau Union Hospital (CMM-PUMCH) in Cotai has recently introduced and utilised the world’s most advanced orthopaedic Stryker-Mako SmartRobotics™* system, and performed Macau’s first Mako robot-assisted knee replacement surgery on an elderly woman suffering from severe knee flexion and varus deformity**, which had limited her mobility, marking a new phase in Macau’s orthopaedic smart medical technology, according to a CMM-PUMCH statement yesterday.
The hospital is officially known as Islands Healthcare Complex – Macao Medical Centre of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH). It is operated by PUMCH in collaboration with the local government. It is informally known as “islands hospital” due to its location in Cotai.
The statement noted that the female patient recovered well after surgery and was able to walk with the assistance of a mobility aid as early as the day after the operation, adding that the case demonstrated how robotic-assisted surgery, through data analysis and intelligent planning, improved surgical precision and controllability, optimised patient prognosis, and accelerates the recovery process
The statement said that the surgery employed the world’s first Mako orthopaedic robotic system capable of performing “three surgical procedures with one machine”. Prior to the operation, the medical team conducted 3D modelling through CT scans to generate a personalised bone model, allowing for precise surgical planning.
During the procedure, the robotic system provided real-time feedback and sub-millimetre accuracy in bone resection, equipped with sense of touch feedback technology to effectively protect critical nerves and blood vessels, thereby significantly enhancing surgical safety, the statement said, adding that additionally, the technology can avoid opening the femoral medullary cavity*** as required in traditional surgery, substantially reducing the risk of bleeding and the need for blood transfusion.
* Stryker Mako, officially branded as Mako SmartRobotics™, is a computer-assisted, robotic-arm surgical system used for precision joint replacement surgery. Stryker Corporation is headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, US. -DeepSeek
** In orthopaedic and anatomical terms, a varus deformity is a condition where a segment of a bone or a joint is angulated toward the midline of the body. -DeepSeek
*** The femoral medullary cavity (also called the marrow cavity) is the central, hollow, cylindrical space within the diaphysis (shaft) of the femur (the thigh bone). It is lined by a thin membrane called the endosteum and is primarily filled with bone marrow. -DeepSeek
This undated handout photo provided by the Islands Healthcare Complex – Macao Medical Centre of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) yesterday shows Macau’s first Mako robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery procedure.
This undated handout photo provided by the Islands Healthcare Complex – Macao Medical Centre of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) yesterday shows its medical teams providing post-surgery care to the patient.
