SMH Introduces ROSA the Hip Robot

February 16, 2022 – Sarasota

ROSA, the robotic surgical assistant who has been helping orthopedic surgeons perform knee replacements at Sarasota Memorial since her debut in 2019, is now primed to do hips.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Zimmer Biomet’s ROSA Hip, the latest addition to the orthopedic robot’s surgical system. The added capabilities allow orthopedic surgeons using an anterior approach to partner with ROSA on total hip replacements.

Edward Stolarski, MD, medical director of Sarasota Memorial’s Orthopedic Surgery division, and orthopedic surgeon Sean Dingle, MD, were among the first physicians in Florida to complete training and begin pioneering use of ROSA on knee replacements in 2019. 

The precision the technology adds to total and partial knee replacement prompted SMH to expand ROSA’s role in the operating room.

“As surgeons, we still have complete control over case planning and the actual surgery,” Dr. Stolarski said. “But ROSA’s advanced capabilities provide us with data and visualization tools before and during surgery that ensure more precise orientation and placement of hip and knee replacement components, and that can lead to a better performing, longer lasting joint.”

Using patient-specific data collected by ROSA, surgeons can create and execute highly personalized surgical plans for each patient who needs a hip replacement, partial knee replacement or total knee replacement. Among other tasks, ROSA helps measure bone and tissue tension in a patient’s hips and knees and continuously monitors them with real-time imaging throughout the orthopedic procedures. Although ROSA Hip is designed for surgeons who use a direct anterior approach, work is under way to equip the robot with additional data and tools to assist surgeons who prefer a posterior approach.

Dr. Stolarski, who helps educate surgeons from across the nation in robotic hip and knee technology and performs most of his hip transplants using an anterior approach, is slated to perform the first robotic-assisted case this month.