For the first time in Hungary, 3 years ago, Dr. Dr. István Domán, Ph.D., orthopedic surgeon.
He achieves success with his pioneering methods in orthopedic surgery. István Domán Ph.D., chief orthopedic surgeon. Thanks to the special technique and robotic technology, it became possible to perform more precise and personalized surgeries.
Robotic technology and computer-controlled procedures can result in faster recovery, less pain, a more natural feeling and a longer life of implants from the patients’ point of view, but they can also contribute to patients being able to return to their daily activities as soon as possible and live a full life. It was the first in our country – even in soft tissue surgery, it spread worldwide Da Vinci robots Before its introduction in Hungary in 2022 – dr. István Domán Ph.D., chief orthopedic surgeon, used robotic surgery for knee replacement surgery for the first time. The news of the high-tech surgical solutions has spread far and wide, so patients from other European countries are constantly arriving, and more and more foreign colleagues are visiting our country to get to know and master these innovative technologies.
Surgeries performed with the American OMNIBotics robot technology have since become part of everyday life, in the last year alone, more than 150 successful knee prosthesis implants have been performed with the robot, and in the past 3 years, nearly four hundred.
Greater precision, gentler surgical technique
Robotic technology has been present in orthopedic surgery for decades, but their explosive development and spread has only been experienced for a few years. Currently, 4-5 American-developed robotic systems dominate the market, all of which are characterized by the fact that compared to traditional surgeries, they enable greater precision and gentler surgical techniques, and their use reduces the risk of certain surgical complications. However, the OMNIBotics robotic surgery procedure introduced in Hungary as the 4th country in Europe is capable of more than other robotic systems.
“The OMNIBotics robotic technology we use enables the objective measurement of the tightness of the soft tissues around the knee during surgery in a unique way in the world, with the help of which a personalized implant position can be realized. The implantation of knee prosthetic components in this way optimizes the tension of the soft tissues and lateral ligaments around the knee, which makes it possible to eliminate complaints that occur in about 20% of traditional interventions, and in most cases remain due to insufficient band tension.
Additional advantages of the procedure are that it is gentler on the tissues, there is no need for preoperative imaging studies (CT/MR), and its use does not significantly extend the duration of the surgery. With the use of technology, patients recover faster, feel less pain and their knees feel more natural, in many cases they almost forget that they have undergone surgery”, pointed out the advantages of using robotic technology in surgery, Dr. István Domán, Ph.D., hip and knee prosthesis specialist.
In the background of the outstanding functional results and the amazingly high – based on international reports – patient satisfaction of 96-97%, Doctor Domán clearly sees the ability to restore the soft tissue balance similar to a normal knee, which is known to not always be completely successful during traditional surgeries. “In surgeries performed with a robot, we already know in advance that the deformity of the knee will disappear, the range of motion will improve, and the balance of the ligaments will be as good as possible”, explains the knee prosthesis specialist, who believes that the use of the robot is also beneficial for the surgeon, since the method based on objective measurement data decision-making makes the surgery stress-free.
Personalized hip replacement surgery
The development of digitalization has also resulted in breakthrough solutions in the field of hip replacement surgeries in recent years, which are also available in Hungary through Dr. Domán. The OPS (Optimized Positioning System) motion analysis-based surgery planning procedure and the related Naviswiss surgical navigation are currently considered state-of-the-art in the field of hip replacement surgery. The procedures promote greater precision, avoid certain complications, increase the lifespan of the implants, and increase patient satisfaction.
“The latest generations of implants can provide a lifetime of up to 3 decades as a result of the latest developments in the use of materials for wear surfaces, but only if the components of the implant implanted during the operation while the patient is lying down will later be used in all body positions (standing, sitting, various activities, sports etc.) are also in perfect contact and function. Because during our movements, the lumbar spine causes the pelvic bone, which is tightly connected to it, to sway back and forth, due to which the wear surfaces of the prosthesis always come into contact differently. This movement has an individual-specific degree and direction, and significantly affected by various changes in the spine. The OPS movement analysis helps the patient receive a personalized plan that ensures the perfect functioning of the artificial joint and avoids many complications that would cause complaints or premature wear of the implant would lead”, explained dr. István Domán, who introduced the procedure in Hungary five years ago, and with nearly 600 operations performed so far, is one of the surgeons performing the most such procedures in Europe.
Pin-point positioning with miniaturized surgical navigation
“The high-precision implementation of the surgical plan determined by the OPS analysis was initially carried out with the help of patient-specific templates made by 3D printing. Two years ago, we managed to acquire the latest development of the Swiss Naviswiss, miniaturized surgical navigation, with which, in addition to the high-precision positioning of the components of the prosthesis, other biomechanical parameters, such as an extremely precise adjustment of limb length can also be ensured, the latter of which is an important element of patient satisfaction”, points out the advantages of the innovative procedure by a specialist who has performed hundreds of successful interventions with navigation, and who was one of the first to use the two technologies together in Europe. An additional advantage of the procedure is that it can be easily used even with minimally invasive (without muscle cutting) surgical exploration, which has been used for a decade.
