A review of the evolution of robotic-assisted total hip arthroplasty

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is currently a very successful operation but continues to evolve as we try to perfect techniques and improve outcomes for our patients. Robotic hip surgery (RHS) began with the 'active' ROBODOC system in the 1980s. There were drawbacks associated with the original ROBODOC and most recently, the MAKO robot was introduced with early promising results.

The aim of this paper is to provide an up-to-date review surrounding this area and discuss the pros and cons of this technique.

A literature review searching Medline, Embase, Ovidsp, Cochrane library, pubmed database and google scholar was performed searching keywords including: 'Robotic hip surgery', 'Robotic orthopaedic surgery', 'Computer assisted hip surgery', 'robotic arthroplasty', and 'computer assisted orthopaedic surgery'.

Robotic hip surgery aims to tackle the limitations of the human factor in surgery by promising reproducible and reliable methods of component positioning in arthroplasty surgery. However, as orthopaedic surgeons, we must critically appraise all new technology and support the use providing there is sound robust evidence backing it.