Mrs Pamela Chapman, of Dinas Powys, was the first patient in Wales, with the surgeon using Mako robotic arm-assisted surgery, to have her hip replaced. A few weeks since her November operation, Mrs Chapman says she frequently forgets she has had either a painful hip or the surgery, as her right hip is so much improved.
When the option to have Stryker Smartrobotics at Nuffield Health Cardiff and Vale Hospitals was mentioned, Mrs Chapman said she felt confident that this was the right way to go. Pamela said, “ It was so reassuring to hear how very precise the procedure would be, with quicker recovery and reduced pain. It was all very impressive and exciting. Compared to my friend who has had a conventional hip replacement, my wound was less messy, seemed cleaner and healed more quickly. I would firmly recommend it.”
A joint replacement can help people return to every-day activities like walking, bending, sleeping and driving, without pain or stiffness. The Stryker Mako system offers a high level of alignment and positioning of the new hip or knee joint during surgery. Using a detailed individualised plan, with a 3D virtual model of the patient’s anatomy, devised from their CT scan before surgery, the surgeon is able to implant the joint replacement in the best position for the patient with a high degree of accuracy.
Mr D Phillip Thomas was Pamela’s orthopaedic surgeon and the 79 year old selected him to do the hip replacement, following advice from her physiotherapist. Her GP had referred her for physiotherapy when her knee was giving her pain. The Nuffield Health physio Adrian Brown, who had treated a neck problem previously with miraculous results, recommended referral to an orthopaedic surgeon and a hip x-ray, as he wasn’t convinced it was the knee which was causing the problem.
When she came in for surgery with Mr Thomas, Pamela said everything and everyone she came across was excellent. Whilst the surgeon still performs the surgery, the robotic arm is there to be guided by the surgeon to accurately remove diseased and damaged bone and cartilage. The new implant, which the robot has helped size, is then fitted precisely into the space created. The process is failsafe, as the robot prevents anything being done which isn’t exactly right.
Mrs Chapman said she loved being at the Nuffield Vale hospital for three nights and wanted to stay for a week! Physios Nicky and Christina have helped her immensely and she was out of bed on a frame early in the morning, just hours after her hip replacement in the late afternoon. It took a while to get going, as her muscles were weak but she was very quickly able to function again and has been seeing her physiotherapist fortnightly with good progress. She has her 18 year old grandson living with her who helped after the operation, along with her daughter who came over to assist. A final x-ray and consultation is due at the end of January.
Suffering with arthritis in various joints, sadly Pamela had to give up her beloved horse riding 15 years ago, as she was finding it difficult to get onto her horse. Since the hip replacement, simple day to day things are making her life immeasurably better – being able to bend to put on her socks herself or trim her own toenails, for example, and simply getting about the house or going for a short walk. She says she now feels ‘fit and able’, with just a little discomfort now only occurring towards the end of the day. Pamela only takes painkillers when needed and that isn’t often anymore. Her right hip was the more deteriorated of the two and now that has been fixed, Mrs Chapman and her surgeon Mr Thomas are planning for the left hip to be replaced – with robotic arm- assisted surgery, of course!
