Robotic and Navigation Systems in Orthopaedic Surgery: How Much Do Our Patients Understand?

Robotic and navigation (RN) systems have been used in surgery since the 1980s and first became used in ortho-paedic surgery in the early 1990s for use in planning of total hip replacements and optimal positioning of final im-plants. The number of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) proce-dures performed in the United Kingdom has steadily been increasing with over 150,000 recorded in the National Joint Registry in 2011; however, the number utilising RN Background: Technology in orthopaedic surgery has become more widespread in the past 20 years, with emerging evidence of its benefits in arthroplasty. Although patients are aware of benefits of conventional joint replacement, little is known on patients’ knowledge of the prevalence, benefits or drawbacks of surgery involving navigation or robotic systems. Methods: In an outpatient arthroplasty clinic, 100 consecutive patients were approached and given questionnaires to assess their knowledge of navigation and robotics in orthopaedic surgery. Participation in the survey was voluntary. Results: Ninety-eight patients volunteered to participate in the survey, mean age 56.2 years (range, 19 to 88 years; 52 female, 46 male). Forty percent of patients thought more than 30 % of National Health Service (NHS) orthopaedic operations involved naviga