With NHS waiting times for hip and knee replacements in the North East and North Yorkshire currently up to 12 months, Mr Andrew Port, a highly experienced consultant orthopaedic surgeon, is offering the people of these regions quicker access for their joint replacement surgery.

Mr Port offers his patients individualised care pathways for hip and knee replacements, including partial knee replacements, complex and revision (redo) hip and knee replacements, for which he is a regional specialist.

As a pioneer for robotic joint replacement surgery in the UK, his patients are now able to take advantage of the quicker recovery times, reduced pain and improved function, following robotic joint replacement surgery.

The Northern Echo: Andrew Port has achieved remarkable results in knee and hip replacements using the Mako robot

Mr Port has more than 30 years’ experience in orthopaedic surgery, during which time he has led and guided local, regional and national directives in improving the quality of orthopaedic surgery. He has been based at James Cook University, Friarage Elective Surgical Hub and Woodlands hospital in Darlington for 25 years.

He performs more than 500 hip and knee replacements a year of which 260 are robot assisted including  40 partial knee replacements. The “Getting It Right First Time” (GIRFT) Department of Health directive and the British Orthopaedic Association advocate that surgeons should perform a minimum number of each of these procedures per year to maintain standards and advises patients to ask their surgeon about their experience and individual outcomes. Mr Port has one of the highest patient satisfaction outcomes and lowest complication rates nationally.

The Northern Echo:

Being one of the first surgeons in the UK to introduce robotic hip and knee replacement surgery, Mr Port has performed over 600 robotic-assisted hip and knee replacements using the Stryker Mako Robotics system and is the top 3 users  in the UK.

From his experience he explains: “The technology combines 3D CT planning with accurate intra-operative reconstruction of the hip or knee replacement. The robotic technology has no Artificial Intelligence or autonomy but provides enhanced surgical accuracy over standard techniques.”

With the enhanced accuracy that assisted robotic surgery provides, patients are reporting less pain, quicker recovery times and greater satisfaction rates.

Woodlands Hospital, in Darlington and the Friarage hospital in Northallerton are the only hospitals in the northern region that offers access to advanced state of the art surgery with the Stryker Mako Robotics system.

The Northern Echo:

Mr Port is currently chairman of the Surgical Collaborative at South Tees NHS Trust, incorporating The James Cook University Hospital and the Friarage Hospital. He leads on the strategy to standardise the delivery and quality of orthopaedic surgery over the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire and the development of a brand new NHS surgical hub in Northallerton

Further information can be found at: www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/consultants/andrew-port or, to book an appointment, contact 01325 341786, or Mr Port’s practice manager on 07855 364475 or email Cheryl.holliday@nhs.net or Cheryl.holiday@ntlworld.com