A European first: hip replacements using Rosa robotic technology
Uccle, 12/02/2025 – Belgium has been selected by Zimmer Biomet to begin the first total hip replacements (THR) with the Rosa robot in Europe. The Europe Hospitals are proud to announce that Dr Didier Postlethwaite, orthopaedic surgeon at the St-Elisabeth site specialising in hip surgery, has just successfully carried out the first THR implantations with this robot. A first in the Brussels Region and a pioneering achievement in Europe, carried out simultaneously at AZ Sint-Jan in Bruges.
Dr Postlethwaite performs anterior PTH hip operations with this robot. He is particularly satisfied: ‘The Rosa robot makes our work very comfortable and allows us to work with millimetre precision. The first implantations went very well. 48 hours after the implantation of the prosthesis, the patients were already able to leave the hospital. Of course, a larger cohort of patients will be needed to be able to comment further on the results obtained, but the initial feedback from our patients is already very positive.’
While the Rosa robot was already being used at the Europe Hospitals for total knee replacement (TKR), it is now also being used for THR, thanks to the software and the articulated hip arm.
‘All patients can be operated on with the Rosa robot and I now use it to operate on patients who require a THR via a direct anterior approach. Any surgeon who has mastered this surgical approach and has received the appropriate training can operate with the Rosa robot. This cutting-edge technology offers an even higher quality of care,’ concludes Dr Postlethwaite.
A culmination after a long process
In order to operate such a robot, in-depth training is required to acquire all the necessary knowledge and to be able to master its use. ‘We are four surgeons who had the opportunity to take the ‘Bioskills Teaching Rosa’ course in 2024: my colleague from AZORG Aalst, Dr Raaijmaakers, and two colleagues from AZ Sint-Jan in Bruges, Dr Vandekerckhove and Dr Vanlommel. This is therefore a Belgian team effort,’ the orthopaedic surgeon is pleased to say.
The first implants were carried out in the United States, then in South Africa. In Europe, it was necessary to wait for the CE marking. As soon as it was obtained, Belgium was the first country in Europe to be able to offer this technology to patients in January 2025.
‘It is above all a recognition for our country to have been selected by Zimmer Biomet, one of the largest orthopaedic implant companies, and thus to be able to be the first European country to offer this technology to our patients,’ comments Dr Postlethwaite.
To date, the first coordinated implantations have been carried out at the Europe Hospitals and AZ Sint-Jan in Bruges and recently at AZORG Aalst.
