Jennersville Regional Hospital will begin providing robotic surgery for partial knee replacements, resulting in less invasive, faster procedures with quicker recovery times for patients who suffer from arthritis pain, officials announced.

Surgeons will offer a new level of surgical precision for patients looking for an alternative to a total knee replacement. The partial knee replacement procedure inserts an implant in one or two of the three compartments within the knee, rather than over the entire knee joint surface, as in a total knee replacement.

"Unlike other robotic surgery technology, this system puts the drill in the surgeon's hands and assists by providing computer-defined boundaries to follow," explained Dr. Elliott Leitman, Jennersville Regional Hospital orthopedic surgeon, who spearheaded the acquisition of the technology.

The new equipment allows patients to skip the pre-surgery CT scan, since the surgical system uses motion sensors placed around and on the knee during surgery to capture movement and the bone structure. This information is fed to a nearby computer for mapping. Planning software helps the surgeon size and align the knee implant, and tailor each surgery to a patient's unique anatomy and movement patterns.

"It makes partial knee surgery, which was once an imprecise undertaking that depended on a surgeon's eye and expertise alone, a practical solution for my patients," Leitman added.

Jennersville Regional Hospital is the fourth U.S hospital equipped with this system.

"Partial knee replacement benefits patients with osteoarthritis by preserving ligaments and saving healthy cartilage and bone - all of which are sacrificed in full-knee replacement," said Dr. Craig Smucker, Jennersville Regional Hospital orthopedic surgeon. "Recovery time is faster and incisions can be smaller with this kind of surgery."

Partial knee replacement provides better surgical outcomes for patients with cartilage damage on a portion of the knee, and the procedure allows for full knee replacement if it is needed in the future.

Most people with arthritic knee pain wait until they need a full knee replacement. "By making partial knee replacements  more desirable, due to the very precise and predictable results with this technology, my patients now have a real solution for returning to everyday activities much sooner than in the past," said Dr. Brain De Muth, Jennersville Regional Hospital orthopedic surgeon.  "The technology gives my colleagues and I millimeter-level accuracy to ensure a perfect fit between the synthetic joint and natural tissue, giving patients a more natural feel after surgery."

To find a Jennersville Regional Hospital orthopedic surgeon, call 610-869-1090 or click on "Find A physician" at Jennersville.com.