Quebec hospital steps into the future with robot tech for knee surgeries

As Dr. Hai Nguyen entered the operating room last week, he couldn't shake the feeling of performing in front of an audience.

Watching him from the the other side of the glass were specialists, staff and representatives from the supplier of a cutting-edge robot recently acquired by Charles-Le Moyne Hospital in Longueuil, Que.

For the first time, the advanced robotic technology was assisting him in a knee procedure that requires extreme precision.

"In terms of bone cuts, it gets us to half a millimetre of precision, so it helps make the surgery more precise," Nguyen said. "It allows us to balance the knee in a personalised way."

For seven decades, surgeons have relied on handheld tools, like a mechanic balancing the front wheels of a car, he explained. It came down to the surgeon's eye and thumb, he said.

"It was time for something more technologically advanced," he said.

The hospital's foundation, Fondation Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne, contributed $1.2 million to the purchase, and in a Friday news release, it said the first surgery was a success.

The hospital is the first French-language hospital in the province to acquire the technology, as robots are increasingly being used in surgeries across the world.

"This robot offers exceptional precision by allowing a customised positioning of the prosthesis, adapted to the morphology and unique needs of each patient," the foundation said.

"The result: a better restoration of natural movements, often difficult to obtain with conventional techniques."

The orthopedic robot reduces the need for revision surgeries, accelerates recovery, shortens hospital stays, lowers the need for physiotherapy, decreases pain medication use and improves access to knee surgeries, the hospital said.

The foundation's CEO, Nathalie Boudreau, said investing in this type of medical technology is essential.

Nearly 40,000 patients like Mario Brunelle are on the waiting list for orthopedic surgery in Quebec. When offered surgery with a robot assistant, Brunelle didn't hesitate.

"If the surgery is good, so much the better," he said. "It will be useful for everyone after that."

He said he waited eight years before deciding to undergo this operation, which his previous doctor considered too complex.

"It can't be worse than what I have here. It has to be better," Brunelle said before the surgery.

The device is supplied by Velys, a U.S.-based robotics company. The first two patients were operated on Wednesday at the South Shore hospital. Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire, Que., also has the technology.

Elsewhere in Canada, the robot has been in use since early 2023.