IN Penn Hills Summer 2018 | Page 4

Up & Walking Four Hours After Getting A New Hip Anna’s degenerative hip joint disease made it difficult and painful to walk. Traditional surgery options to relieve her pain might have meant a lengthy recovery, a shoe lift, or other long-term complications. But she found new hope with the orthopaedic team at Allegheny Health Network, the only surgeons in the region performing a robotic-arm assisted procedure that had her walking down the hall to thank her surgeon — just four hours after surgery. West Penn Hospital Orthopaedic Surgery Director Dr. Michael Seel, and Anna’s own orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Timothy J. Sauber, helped her understand how Mako™ total hip arthroplasty was different. “For patients who qualify, using the Mako Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopaedic system can make a drastic difference in their overall comfort and recovery time — reducing the timeframe from months to weeks,” said Dr. Sauber. “Anna has made tremendous progress since undergoing the Mako procedure,” he added. “In only four hours after her initial surgery and some minor physical therapy she was able to walk unassisted — and give me and our staff big thank you hugs. It was a great moment for everyone.” AHN physicians perform Mako robotic-arm assisted surgeries like Anna’s at Allegheny General Hospital, Forbes Hospital, Jefferson Hospital, Saint Vincent Hospital, and West Penn Hospital. Cutting-Edge Technology Used in both total hip and partial knee replacements, Mako creates a three-dimensional map of the surgical area and uses a robotic arm to let surgeons be more precise. That precision also keeps more healthy bone and tissue intact, leading to potentially quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays. *Claim based on inpatient utilization data for the 29 counties in WPA as reported by Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council for calendar years 2012-2015. www.phc4.org/reports/utilization/inpatient/ “ “ Designed for patients like Anna with degenerative joint diseases, the procedure also put Anna at less risk for her implant and bone abnormally rubbing together, which may help her implant last longer. In only four hours after her initial surgery…she was able to walk unassisted. - Dr. Sauber