After a surgery, we know you want to get back to everyday life as soon as possible. Robotic surgery can help speed recovery time by creating customized precision, often resulting in shorter hospital stays and less pain and discomfort.
Robotic surgery allows our highly skilled surgeons to perform complex surgical procedures through tiny incisions, using advanced robotic-assisted technology.
Benefits of robotic surgery often include:
- Shorter hospital stay
- Reduced blood loss
- Faster recovery
- Less pain overall
- Fewer complications
- Reduced need for pain medicine
- Smaller incisions for minimal scarring
How Robotic Surgery Works
At Altru, we’re proud to offer our patients some of the most advanced, minimally invasive surgical systems, skillfully operated by our expert surgeons.
Robotic surgery offers a magnified vision system, giving our surgeons a 3-D, high definition view inside the body. Wristed instruments bend and rotate far greater than the human hand, enabling the robot to maneuver more easily in tight spaces. The surgeon sits nearby at a console manipulating the instruments and performing the operation. This allows the surgeon’s hand movements to be translated into smaller, precise movements of tiny instruments inside the body.
“With Mako® robotic-arm assistance we can be more precise in how we position the hip replacement. With improved accuracy, we create a better fitting replacement for the patient, which has the potential to create a longer lasting hip.”
-Jeremy Gardner, MD, orthopedic surgeon
Types of Robotic Surgery at Altru
daVinci® Xi Robotic Surgical System
Altru uses the latest Intuitive daVinci® Xi robotic surgical system. The system offers 3-D high definition visualization and allows for enhanced dexterity and greater control for surgeons. Altru Health System is the only system in North Dakota to have dual operating consoles, allowing two surgeons to operate together.
See how a skilled surgeon using the daVinci® system can precisely peel a grape:
Mako™ Robotic Arm Assisted Joint Replacement
Altru Orthopedics & Sports Medicine offers partial and total knee and total hip replacement with the Mako™ Robotic Arm. This advanced technology assists our expert surgeons to offer a more accurate joint replacement, resulting in less pain and a more natural-feeling joint.
By creating a 3-D model of the body’s anatomy, our surgeons develop a pre-surgical plan that customizes implant size, positioning and alignment specifics to each patient’s needs. Improvement placement results in minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue and bone.
Learn more about Mako™ Robotic Arm Assisted Joint Replacement.
ION Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy System
We’re proud to offer the ION robotic-assisted bronchoscopy system, an innovative technology that enhances the precision and safety of diagnosing lung nodules. The ION system allows physicians to navigate deep into the lungs using a flexible catheter equipped with a small camera and needle. With advanced imaging and robotic control, it enables earlier and more accurate detection of lung cancer, often catching it in earlier, more treatable stages.
This minimally invasive approach significantly reduces the need for open surgery or other high-risk procedures, making it a safer option even for patients with complex health conditions. And because this technology is available right here at Altru, patients can receive specialized care close to home without needing to travel. The ION system is one more way we’re advancing care and improving outcomes for our community.
Robotic Surgery Offerings
The daVinci system allows Altru surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures in the following areas:
The Mako™ Robotic Arm Assisted Joint Replacement is available for:
The ION Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy System is available for pulmonary procedures.
Talk to your surgeon to see if you are a candidate for robotic surgery.
