It’s celebration time at Grace as the newest member of staff settles in and gets ready to go to work.

The new, multi-million dollar Mako Robot by Stryker, will be used by the Orthopaedic Team, initially for knee replacement surgery, and extending to hip joint replacements in the future.

Grace Hospital general manager Janet Keys says the team is excited by the benefits the Mako presents for patients.

“The Mako technology has been shown to support the preservation of soft tissue and healthy bone” she says, “which supports a fast recovery and positive outcome for the patient.” 

Grace was the first hospital in New Zealand to perform robotic surgery when they invested in the Da Vinci Robot in 2007, and a team has been performing surgery with robotic assistance since then.

The investment in the Mako robot reinforces Grace’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of technological and surgical advancements.

“While the Da Vinci robot supports key-hole surgery and is predominantly used in gynaecological, urogological and abdominal procedures, the Mako uses a completely different technology to support orthopaedic procedures.”

Specialists Andrew Vane, Vaughn Poutawera, Georgina Chan, Tony Lamberton and Matthew Street (not pictured) will be the first group of local consultants to work with the Mako.

The Mako process starts with a CT scan that creates a 3D image of the patient’s anatomy.

This information allows the surgeon to create a unique plan pre-operatively for the patient, then assess and dynamically balance the joint intra-operatively.

Using this information, the Mako also guides the surgeon during surgery, supporting them to respond more precisely to that patient’s unique anatomy.

As Mako is a Māori word for shark, the Grace team has named their robot, Te Ururoa (the Great White Shark), inspired by the Bay of Plenty’s resident population of great white sharks. 

With more than 500 knee replacements performed at Grace Hospital every year, it’s expected Te Ururoa will be kept busy.

Grace currently has five surgeons qualified and ready to perform surgery using the Mako, and it’s expected that more of Grace’s surgeons will undertake the training over the coming months.  

More than a million procedures have been undertaken using the Mako technology worldwide.