Causes and patterns of aborting a robot-assisted arthroplasty

For a successful robot-assisted arthroplasty, every step should be executed harmoniously. However, when we encounter serious obstacles during surgery, it is sometimes better to abort the procedure in a timely manner. This study investigated the possible causes and patterns of aborted robot-assisted arthroplasties. Of 100 consecutively planned robot-assisted arthroplasties, 22 cases were aborted. Most involved total knee arthroplasty (21/22 cases). We classified the causes according to the stage at which they occurred and the type of error. Abortions after starting the milling procedure and abortions due to an interactive factor were the most common. We believe that this study can guide surgeons to effective decision making during robot-assisted arthroplasty.