Dr. Parr is one of a handful of orthopedic surgeons in the United States providing MAKOplasty joint resurfacing as an early treatment option for osteoarthritis of the knee.

Learn why this relatively new surgical procedure is so appreciated by his patients and how it might be able to help you.

The MAKO Knee.... The new robotic knee surgery, resurfacing only the bad area.

For most patients, the minimally invasive surgery lets patients go home the day following their surgery, and return to their normal lifestyles as early as two weeks.

The MAKO Haptic Guided System is a robotic system which allows orthopedic surgeons to perform precision knee surgery through a much smaller incision. This minimally invasive procedure—called MAKOplasty—was approved by the FDA in 2005, and is currently being performed by only a few surgeons in the US, to include Dr. Tom Parr, of Sugar Land.

“CT” scans of the patient’s knee are loaded into the robot, and the surgeon works with the robot to define the precise, minimally invasive cuts in the bone of the knee through a “keyhole” incision. This requires the surgeon to plan the surgery in advance, and each patient’s surgery is unique. Because the surgeon has defined the parameters of the procedure prior to surgery, including exactly where and to what depth each cut is to be made, the robot then provides feedback to the surgeon during the surgery by touch and audible signals. “The surgeon remains in control throughout the operation,” Dr. Parr explains, “but the robot provides a greatly improved, precise degree of accuracy.”