Royal Care Super Speciality Hospital, Coimbatore – one of the leading hospitals in Tamil Nadu offering state of the art medical care with compassion across various specialties became the first hospital in India to launch Stryker Mako 4 Smart Robotics System for Advanced Joint Replacement.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Arunraj launched this sophisticated system in the presence of Dr.Madeswaran, Chairman & Managing Director, Royal Care Super Speciality Hospital; Aman Rishi, Vice President and GM, Stryker India; Dr.Rajkumar Natesan, Senior Consultant Orthopedics & Arthroplasty Specialist in Robotic Joint Replacement Surgery, Royal Care Super Speciality Hospital.
The robotic joint replacement program at Royal Care Hospital is led by Dr.Rajkumar Natesan. He has 25 years of arthroplasty experience, and currently serves as Vice President of the Indian Arthroplasty Association and is designated to assume the national presidency in 2027. With this advanced system in its med-tech arsenal, Royal Care has once again established itself as a national leader in offering advanced healthcare solutions to patients.
The launch comes amid a sharp rise in arthritis cases across India. The condition, characterized by joint wear and tear that causes severe pain and deformities, is projected to increase three-to five-fold by 2030. While joint replacement surgery has historically been associated with patients over the age of 60 or 65, specialists report a concerning trend over the last five to six years – a growing number of individuals in their 50s are now requiring intervention.
Making cutting-edge Robotic Joint Surgery accessible in Coimbatore – Dr.Rajkumar Natesan
Speaking exclusively to The Covai Mail, Dr.Rajkumar Natesan, Senior Consultant & Specialist in Robotic Joint Replacement Surgery at Royal Care clarified that obesity, diabetes, and sedentary lifestyles are some of the contributing factors to joint issues, however genetics remains one of the primary causes of joint wear and tear. As the Hip and Knee joints are the weight-bearing joints, they suffer more wear and tear.
In the past, limited public awareness led many patients to suffer in silence and delay treatment. Today, digital media has expanded access to information, prompting patients to seek early medical intervention.
While Indian hospitals have been offering Joint Replacement Procedures for several decades, the first robot for joint replacement surgery was introduced in India by Stryker in 2017, and then they gained momentum in our country since the last 9 years, offering significant precision advantages over traditional manual methods.
The Stryker Mako 4 Smart Robotics system unifies multiple procedures – Total Knee Replacement, Total Hip Replacement, Major Revision Surgeries (replacing previously failed non-robotic joint surgeries) into a single platform. Dr.Rajkumar underlined that Stryker Mako 4 is currently the only system capable of performing hip replacement procedures without requiring additional hardware.
Sharing about its major advantage, he said the Mako 4 system incorporates “haptic boundary” safety technology. During procedures, the robotic saw blade is constrained within pre-programmed safety parameters. If the blade approaches surrounding soft tissues, nerves, or blood vessels, it automatically stops, eliminating the risk of accidental tissue damage. Cut precision is held to exact millimeter-level set by the surgeon.
Since the system preserves soft tissues and limits surgical trauma, patient outcomes are significantly improved such as Reduced Pain – Minimal tissue disruption leads to lower post-operative pain, Faster Recovery – Patients are enabled to walk the day after surgery, Shorter Hospital Stay – the in-patient stays are reduced from the traditional 5–6 days down to discharge on the second day.
First released in the United States, the Mako 4 installation in Coimbatore represents the latest international advancement in orthopedic care, making cutting-edge robotic joint surgery accessible in South-East Asia.
