BMH celebrates more than 1,000 orthopedic Mako robotic-arm assisted surgeries

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Bingham Memorial Hospital announced its orthopedic surgeons are the first in Eastern Idaho to have performed more than 1,000 Mako procedures.

“Achieving more than 1,000 surgeries using the Mako is quite the milestone for Bingham Orthopedics, and I couldn’t be more proud of our orthopedic team,” Bingham Healthcare CEO Jake Erickson said. “It’s exciting to be able to offer this transformative technology to perform knee and hip replacements to the patients of Eastern Idaho and the Intermountain West. We are committed to ensuring our patients have access to the highest quality and compassionate care and services in order to improve their clinical outcomes and overall experience in our hospital.”

Bingham has four extremely talented orthopedic surgeons who are trained on the Mako system: David Peterson, DO; Nathan Richardson, MD; Nicholas Pearson, DO; and, Benjamin Allen, MD.

“Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery has dramatically changed the way joint replacement procedures are performed,” said Dr. David J. Peterson, orthopedic knee and hip replacement surgeon at Bingham, and the first surgeon in Idaho to perform a robotic-assisted total knee replacement using the Mako. “Using a virtual 3D model, the Mako system allows surgeons to create each patient’s surgical plan pre-operatively, before the patient even enters the operating room. During surgery, the surgeon can validate that plan and make any necessary adjustments while guiding the robotic-arm to execute the procedure as planned.”

As a result of these innovative technological advances, the Mako system increases surgical precision, decreases hospitalization, and speeds up recovery times. The Mako system also improves surgical outcomes and quality of life while saving patients both time and money. Further, because of the Mako technology, Bingham’s surgeons can perform same-day knee and hip replacement surgeries, in many cases.

A Mako partial knee replacement and total knee replacement are designed to relieve pain caused by joint degeneration and can offer:

• Improved surgical outcomes resulting in a more natural feeling knee following surgery.
• Less implant wear and loosening.
• Reduced blood loss, shorter hospitalization, and a more rapid recovery

A Mako total hip replacement can offer the following benefits over traditional hip replacement:

• More accurate placement of the hip implant, which reduces the likelihood of hip dislocation.
• More consistency in leg length, potentially decreasing the need for a shoe lift.
• Decreased risk of the implant abnormally rubbing together, improving the lifetime of the implant.

In 2017, BMH was the first hospital in Idaho to perform a total knee replacement with the Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery system.