The BMJ invited FICEBO researchers Teppo Järvinen, Ville Vänni and Teemu Karjalainen to write an editorial on robotic hip and knee replacement, contributing to the international debate on the evaluation and adoption of surgical innovation.
Titled “Robot assisted hip and knee arthroplasty: It is high tech, but is it better?”, the editorial examines whether the technical promise of robotics translates into meaningful benefits for patients, and whether current evidence supports rapid expansion.
The editorial accompanies two UK joint registry studies. Neither found a lower overall revision risk with robotic assistance. Robotic hip replacement was associated with fewer malposition-related revisions, but the absolute difference was small: 0.2 percentage points at five years.
The authors also consider the recent RACER-Knee randomised trial, which found more accurate execution of planned implant alignment but no clinically important improvement in patient-reported outcomes at one year, at higher cost.
The editorial calls for evaluation to guide adoption, with clear expectations for additional patient benefit and careful consideration of healthcare resources.
Related research:
BMJ knee registry study
BMJ hip registry study
RACER-Knee trial
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