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Efficacy of the newly designed “SkyWalker” robot compared to the MAKO robotic system in primary total knee arthroplasty: a one-year follow-up study

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Abstract

Purpose

Robot-assisted surgical systems for performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have gained significant attention. This study was designed to compare the surgical outcomes in primary TKA surgery between the recently developed “SkyWalker” robot system and the more commonly used MAKO robot.

Methods

A total of 75 patients undergoing primary TKA surgery by the same surgical team were included in this study, with 30 patients in the “SkyWalker” group and 45 patients in the “MAKO" group. We documented the osteotomy plan for both robotic systems. The lower limb alignment angles were evaluated by postoperative radiographic assessment. The operation time, estimated blood loss, postoperative hospital stays, and changes in laboratory indexes were collected during hospitalization. In addition, a comparative evaluation of knee functional assessments and complications was conducted during six month and one year follow-ups.

Results

There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the accuracy of restoring lower limb alignment, estimated blood loss, or operation time. The knee function assessments at six months and one year postoperatively were similar in both groups. Except for day three after surgery, the level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the change in IL-6 (∆IL-6) from preoperative baseline were higher in the “SkyWalker” group than in the MAKO group (median: 20.53 vs. 14.17, P=0.050 and median: 17.30 vs. 10.09, P=0.042, respectively). Additionally, one patient from the MAKO group underwent revision surgery at nine months postoperatively due to ongoing periprosthetic discomfort.

Conclusions

The newly developed “SkyWalker” robot showed comparable efficacy to the MAKO robot in terms of lower limb alignment accuracy and postoperative six month and one year follow-up of clinically assessed resumption of knee function.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project (No. Z221100003522014) and the Key Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U22A20355). The funding source did not play a role in the investigation.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Hang-Yu Ping, Hao-Ming An, and Zheng Cao contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Hang-Yu Ping, Hao-Ming An & Zheng Cao

  2. Senior Department of Orthopedics, the Fourth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100048, China

    Hang-Yu Ping, Hao-Ming An, Zheng Cao, Shao-Kui Nan, Hai-Feng Li & Wei Chai

  3. National Clinical Research Center for Orthopedics, Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, Beijing, 100853, China

    Hang-Yu Ping, Hao-Ming An, Zheng Cao, Shao-Kui Nan, Hai-Feng Li & Wei Chai

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  1. Hang-Yu Ping
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Hang-Yu Ping, Hao-Ming An, and Zheng Cao. The manuscript was prepared by Hang-Yu Ping, Hao-Ming An, and Zheng Cao. Shao-Kui Nan provided assistance with data analysis and manuscript drafting. Hai-Feng Li and Wei Chai involved in the study design and the revision of the manuscript. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hai-Feng Li or Wei Chai.

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Ethics approval

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from ethical committee of the Fourth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital (NO. 2022KY127-KS001). This study had performed in accordance with the ethical standards in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. All details that might disclose the identity of the subjects under study had been omitted.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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This manuscript did not contain any individual person’s data in any form.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ping, HY., An, HM., Cao, Z. et al. Efficacy of the newly designed “SkyWalker” robot compared to the MAKO robotic system in primary total knee arthroplasty: a one-year follow-up study. International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 48, 761–772 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-023-06023-1

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