Essentia Health Welcomes Robotic Arm Assisted Surgery

The first hospital in the Northland to have this kind of technology

DULUTH, Minn.-Thank to donations from the community and the Essentia Health Foundation, St. Mary’s Medical Center will be the first hospital in the Northland to offer robotic-arm assisted surgery.

Called MAKO, the robotic arm aid surgeons performing knee and hip replacements. The technology allows for less invasive procedure, closer precision and a quicker recovery time.

Orthopedic surgeons at Essentia, like Dr. Brad Edgerton, say that help from this kind of equipment will be especially beneficial to patients up to 20 years after procedures.

“We are just trying to, at Essentia, bring the best technology we can find and our patients in the Northland are given the pest possible results from their joint replacement surgery.”

Donations alone paid for one million of the $1.3 million needed to get the robotic arm to the hospital. Surgery assistance from the machine could begin as early as September.