How does MAKO compare to other knee surgeries or resurfacing treatments in recovery time and pain?
Dr. Levitt: Other types of resurfacing, and if we are talking about a partial knee resurfacing like MAKO, require a bigger incision. The bigger the incision, the longer the recovery time and the more swelling there is afterwards. It is a longer recovery time if you do not use MAKO. I would estimate MAKO has about a 30 to 40 percent faster recovery than traditional methods. The recovery time is important. Obviously, a patient wants to get better quicker. But even more important to doctors and what we are trying to project is the precision with which the implants are put in — not how the patient is going to do in a week or a month or six months, but how they are going to be ten to 15 years from now. That is what our ultimate goal is — to give you a good joint that lasts. That is really where MAKO is exciting — not only in the recovery, but in the precision and the length that the implants will probably last. How long does the procedure take? Is MAKO more complicated? Dr. Levitt: Right
