LAYTON—Patients who are in need of shoulder replacement surgery can now benefit from a state-of-the-art device that offers precision, personalized care and faster recovery for shoulder pain. CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospital – Davis is the first in Utah to use the Mako SmartRobotics™ system, which is the predominant robot system used for orthopedic surgeries, according to CommonSpirit. 

“We call it the Mako™ robotic assisted total shoulder,” said orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Blatter. “I went out and shadowed a surgeon in California that’s been doing it over the past several months.”

It’s increasing its release to different states and locations as the technology software and Mako™ robotic arm becomes available, he said. “It’s neat technology that helps to improve accuracy and precision and component positioning in a shoulder replacement.” 

It’s based off of a preoperative CT scan, said Blatter. “There’s a special Mako™ protocol that we use for that scan. Essentially we plan the patient’s surgery using that software on the computer and then translate that to the operating room.”

Blatter said it allows them to change the size or location and position of all the implants using the software. “Then we match that up with the patient’s anatomy once we get to the operating room and then I can fine tune that even intraoperatively based on what the patient’s anatomy looks like, the length of screws and where we put the components.”

So the robot helps to improve that precision and accuracy, he said. “Over time as we get more numbers and get more used to using it, hopefully it translates into quicker recovery for the patient and improves outcomes and satisfaction, decreases pain and improves function. That’s kind of what the whole goal of all of this is.”

Blatter has done two so far. Jason Simpson, a 53-year-old from West Point, was the first. Blatter had performed a reverse shoulder replacement on Simpson's right shoulder in February but offered the robotic-assisted option for the left. Simpson had the surgery at CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospital – Davis on June 15.

 “Both shoulders have been really bad for probably about 15 years,” said Simpson. “It’s been a combination of some injuries. I had a couple of motorcycle crashes and I was really heavy into weightlifting when I was much younger. I was doing really heavy weight and probably was not doing it all correctly.”

Simpson said he was injured on the job as a police officer too. “I was out there and ended up in a situation where somebody became combative and was fighting us. We all went to the ground and I fell to the ground and my left arm just kind of gave out. I felt my shoulder kind of pop. It was never the same after that.”

Both shoulders looked equally bad on the MRI, he said. “It was 15 years of issues.”

Simpson said Blatter explained the procedure and gave him the option to do the surgery on the left shoulder with the robotic assisted technology or traditional surgery like his right shoulder. “I said ‘if that’s what you would like to do and if it’s most comfortable for you and it gives me the best surgery possible, that’s what I want.'”

I guess this was the first one that has been done (with this device) in Utah, he said. “It’s just my luck that I happened to be the first one.”