Computer-Assisted Surgery

What Happens During Surgery?

Stryker Navigation technology uses special tracking devices, providing your surgeon a comprehensive understanding of your joint mechanics in the operating room (OR). Armed with this information, your surgeon can make adjustments within a fraction of a degree, helping to ensure your new joint has the stability and range of motion needed for a successful replacement.

Specifically, the technology uses the latest advancements in science and computer engineering to help contribute to accurate positioning of the implants. As the surgeon moves an instrument within your joint, special infrared trackers calculate its position and wireless instruments instantaneously transfer the data to a computer in the OR. This information is then displayed on a monitor as an interactive model of the anatomy or “blueprint” that supplies the surgeon with the angles, lines and measurements of your unique anatomy.

The surgeon will then replace the diseased bone with new, artificial joint components often called prostheses or implants. Joint implants are engineered to closely replicate a normal, healthy joint.

With certain techniques, your surgeon may use pins that hold trackers around the incision site of your joint. These temporary placeholders give the computer key information and may make the surgery even more exact, but it does mean the possibility of additional scarring at the pin points.