MIAMI – Dr. Harvey Saff is on the go again. He feels no pain after surgery to treat his osteoarthritis.
?I was back on my feet almost in a day or two,? said Saff.
Recommended Videos
Saff had successful partial knee replacement surgery, or "Makoplasty," and resumed his normal exercise schedule in a few short weeks. His surgeon used an innovative tool; the RIO Robotic Arm, made in South Florida by Mako Surgical.
Mako Surgical CEO Maurice Ferré said ?We are the only company that developed this technology in orthopedics. And we use robotic arm technology, a novelty that allows us to precisely place these implants into the patient's body.?
About 10,000 ?Makoplasty?s? have been performed since 2006. The patients CT scans are loaded into a computer software program, and then a surgical plan is created and sent to the robotic arms probes during surgery. The surgeon manipulates the robotic arm trimming bone mass with pinpoint accuracy, and then inserts the implant. The doctor follows his or her progress on a TV monitor in the operating room.
?I don't have to guess if I think I did it right, I know I did,? said Orthopedic physician Dr. Martin Roche.
Mako Surgical?s growth has been explosive and is often looking to hire scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.
?Give me good people that are innovative and are passionate and great things will happen," Ferré said. "We've been focused like a laser beam on solving a problem.?