A Blackburn hospital will be the first to offer robotic surgery to patients in need of hip and knee replacements in Lancashire.
The Beardwood Hospital, which is based on Preston New Road will be assisted by the 'Stryker Mako' system, a specialist piece of equipment used by orthopaedic surgeons.
And Carl Fogarty MBE, former professional superbike champion and a past patient at The Beardwood Hospital, was at the hospital to welcome the arrival of the new equipment.
The private hospital, part of Circle Health Group has recently benefited from a £3 million investment programme and the arrival of state-of-the art modern robotics is the next step of enhancing the services offered by the hospital.
The Circle Health Group is said to be the first private healthcare provider in the region to be equipped to deliver this kind of robotic surgery.
Samantha Sheehan, Executive Director of The Beardwood Hospital; Gordon Shepard, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon; Carl Fogarty MBE; Laura Sanderson, Senior Orthopaedic Lead; Darryl Dixon, Senior SSD Theatre Co-ordinator and Kelsey Patterson, Senior MAKO product specialist from Stryker
Mako technology offers patients an alternative to traditional joint replacement surgery that often leads to long recovery periods. With the Stryker Mako system, the replacement surgery becomes far more precise as before the operation takes place the patient's body is mapped and a bespoke surgical plan is created, unique to the patient being operated on.
Carl Fogarty MBE, said: “It’s great to see a local private hospital investing in the services they offer, enabling residents of Blackburn and the wider population of Lancashire able to have this innovative type of surgery on their doorstep”.
Sam Sheehan, Executive Director of The Beardwood Hospital, said: “The arrival of the Mako system at Beardwood is a very exciting development for the hospital, the investment comes at a crucial time when more patients are choosing to pay for their treatment due to increased NHS waiting lists as a result of the pandemic.
"This addition to our Orthopaedics department allows us to offer a state-of-the-art alternative compared to traditional methods of surgery”.
Gordon Shepard, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at The Beardwood Hospital said: “Having the opportunity to offer MAKO joint replacement surgery to patients in Lancashire and further afield is offering them increased benefits in having a knee or hip replacement that results in a shorter stay in hospital and quicker recovery times, meaning patients can return home to their families and resume normal activities sooner”.
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