Region’s first robot-assisted knee surgeries performed in Dubai
dubai — A Dubai hospital announced that it has successfully conducted the first two roboticassisted orthopaedic surgeries in the region involving partial and total knee replacements.
At a Press briefing on Wednesday, Mediclinic City Hospital said the AI (artificial intelligence) medical procedures were conducted by orthopaedic surgeons Dr Ali Al Belooshi and Dr Saeed Al Thani.
An Emirati national, Ahmed Al Rais, 47, was the first patient who had partial knee surgery on January 8 after suffering from knee osteoarthritis for two years. Another patient, who was not identified, had a total knee replacement surgery. “I am very happy that I was able to receive such high-quality care in my own city. I was able to move just a few hours after the surgery,” Al Rais told reporters.
Al Rais, a father of five kids and a security officer at Silicon Oasis, said before the operation, he could barely walk for a few hundred metres. He learned of the AI-assisted surgery from Dr Ali Al Belooshi back in November last year.
He was hesitant at first to undergo a robotic-assisted orthopaedic surgery but was eventually convinced after reading medical literature on AI and precision medicine. Al Rais said he was able to walk after a few days although there was some pain at night after the first few days of the surgery.
Al Rais will undergo eight postoperation therapy sessions and next year, he will hopefully be able to play his favourite sport, football, again. All his medical expenses were covered by his health insurance. The other patient is also expected to make a full recovery. Dr Al Belooshi said: “Using a robotics-assisted handpiece such as the NAVIO Surgical System enables a surgeon to plan accurately intraoperatively, position the implants, and reduce the risk of errors during the procedure, while decreasing the length of time it takes for a patient to recover.
“The future is going to revolutionise the way surgeons like myself work. With this cutting edge technology, our patients need not travel abroad for such services.”
According to Dr Al Thani, “the AI in knee replacement adds precision and accuracy in performing patient specific procedures.”