For years, John Pritchard, 62, struggled with debilitating arthritis in his left knee, which severely limited his mobility. Simple activities like walking long distances and bending his knees became increasingly painful, which was particularly an issue for an avid cyclist like John.
Everything changed in March 2024, when Dr. Jose Guerra, an orthopaedic surgeon at Scarborough Health Network (SHN), performed a total knee replacement surgery on John, using the new Velys surgical robot at Birchmount Hospital. This new technology is part of the innovative care provided by SHN’s leading orthopaedic centre of excellence, which is the largest orthopaedic program in Ontario.
Funded by donors to the Love, Scarborough campaign, the state-of-the-art robot enables surgeons to perform knee replacements with unparalleled precision, minimizing trauma to soft tissue, reducing recovery time, minimizing pain, and improving overall patient outcomes. The compact unit can easily be transported between operating rooms, and features an infrared camera and optical trackers that offer real-time surgical insights throughout the procedure.
“The Velys robot is a technological wonder in working toward total joint recovery,” said Dr. Guerra. “Its tracking and control technology allow me and other surgeons to work with more precision and stability, which in turn allows us to impact less of the surrounding area during a joint replacement or other orthopaedic procedures.”
Exceptional patient experience and outcomes
Remarkably, Dr. Guerra helped to take John from Velys to velocity in just eight weeks. That is when John was able to return to cycling, reaching as far as 20 kilometres on his first warm-up ride. By 12 weeks post-op, he completed a 30-km ride, including uphill routes and sharp turns that he would have previously found difficult due to his arthritis.
John attributes his speedy and successful recovery to the advanced technology of the Velys robot and the exceptional care provided by SHN’s surgical team.
“The staff were so amazing and welcoming, from registration all the way to the operating room,” John said. “When I learned that my surgery was going to be assisted by the Velys robot, I was very excited! I trusted Dr. Guerra when he said that it would significantly help my results, and I’m very glad I did.”
“I didn’t even need to take my pain medications when I was resting,” he added. “For the first time in years, I felt like I could relax. It didn’t even feel like I’d had surgery at times.”
John praises SHN staff for their supportive and attentive care throughout his journey, from registration to post-operative recovery. He told SHN that he will recommend our health network to anyone in his life who is experiencing joint issues or requires possible surgery.
Rapid access to care means low wait times
With the largest complement of orthopaedic surgeons, SHN’s orthopaedic centre performs more than 5,000 surgeries across every orthopaedic subspecialty per year. This includes 1,800 total hip and knee replacement surgeries annually, and the most total joint replacements of any community hospital in the province.
“In addition to low complication rates and high patient satisfaction, our orthopaedic program has some of the lowest wait times for knee total joint replacement,” pointed out Dr. Guerra.
“On average, patients can expect to wait less than three weeks for their procedure from the moment the decision to treat has been made.”
A key part of how SHN offers such rapid access to care is through the introduction of an Orthopaedic Navigator. This role helps to triage referrals based on urgency and subspecialty, and allocate them to a specific orthopaedic provider.
Physicians in the community can refer patients to SHN’s orthopaedic program through our online electronic referral available at www.shn.ca/orthopaedics or by emailing orthonavigator@shn.ca.