Newsroom Hospital for Special Surgery

How Lindsey Vonn’s new titanium knee helped her become Olympic-bound once again

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:18:00 -0500

The New York Times highlights Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable return to elite ski racing after a partial knee replacement by Martin W. Roche, MD, knee surgeon and director of arthroplasty at HSS Florida, using an innovative, robot-assisted technique. By replacing only the damaged portion of her knee and preserving key structures, Dr. Roche helped restore the stability and strength Vonn had lacked for years—allowing her to withstand the extreme forces of World Cup downhill skiing. Her unprecedented performance is giving Dr. Roche valuable insights into implant durability under extraordinary conditions and setting new expectations for what patients can achieve after partial knee replacement.

Read the full article at nytimes.com.

2 Hospital for Special Surgery milestones

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 11:02:00 -0500

Becker's Spine Review reports on two HSS milestones, including use of the OrthAlign navigation device to perform 16,500 cases in total and partial hip and knee replacements, and the first augmented reality (AR)-assisted spine surgery in New York State using the first AR system cleared by the FDA for navigation in spine surgery performed by Frank P. Cammisa Jr., MD, chief emeritus of HSS Spine.

Read the full article: https://www.beckersspine.com/.

What to Expect After Knee Replacement Surgery: Treatments and Recovery

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 16:26:00 -0400

U.S. News & World Report discusses total and partial knee replacement surgeries and typical candidates for each according to experts including Seth A. Jerabek, MD, hip and knee surgeon and co-medical director at HSS Westchester.

Dr. Jerabek explained that over time, knee cartilage can deteriorate, “Cartilage doesn’t have nerve endings, so the loss of cartilage doesn’t hurt. But that changes when the bones touch.”

Cartilage loss can lead to disabling pain, stiffness and inflammation and a total knee replacement might help.

For a total knee replacement, according to Dr. Jerabek, “When you cut off the top of the tibia, you have to sacrifice the anterior cruciate ligament in the center of the knee. He added, “The implant then makes up for the ACL to stabilize the joint. But really, there’s no way to make it perform like an ACL, so it can be harder after knee replacement to pivot and twist in activities like soccer or basketball."

If cartilage is limited to one part of the knee, a person might be a good candidate for partial knee replacement. “The most common (scenario) is arthritis isolated to the inside or medial compartment. Those patients do well with partial knee replacements,” Dr. Jerabek noted.

He added, “The potential problem with a partial knee replacement is that you can still get arthritis in the other knee compartments that weren’t replaced, so a lot of people jump right to the total replacement.”

Dr. Jerabek noted, “For a total knee replacement, most people are in formal physical therapy for three months. For partial knees, you bounce back twice as fast, because we’ve removed less bone and kept all of the ligaments and we didn’t have to dislocate the tibia from underneath the femur.”

Read the full article at Usnews.com.

ESPN West Palm Tonight

Thu, 20 May 2021 16:42:00 -0400

ESPN West Palm Tonight interviewed Martin W. Roche, MD, knee surgeon and director of Hip and Knee Arthroplasty at HSS Florida, on air to address a range of topics including the most common knee injuries he treats and who is considered a good candidate for outpatient joint replacement surgery.

Dr. Roche explained the advancement of robotic applications, including the innovation of a partial knee replacement developed at HSS Florida, which fixes just the worn-out part of the knee and allows people to get their range of motion and function back in a matter of weeks, which is a tremendous improvement in the treatment of arthritis.

Dr. Roche said, “I always want to tell the patient that - knee arthroplasty, even though a complex surgery, it has a successful up-to-20-year lifecycle, so it enables you to restore your function – you can hike, swim, cycle, tennis, golf and restore your active lifestyle.”

The segment aired on May 20, 2021.

Am I a candidate for a robotic partial knee replacement?

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 19:52:00 -0400

The Palm Beach Post’s “Ask the Expert” column features Martin W. Roche, MD, knee surgeon and director of Hip and Knee Arthroplasty at HSS Florida, discussing the factors for determining when patients are proper candidates for a robotic partial knee replacement.

Dr. Roche explained the knee is divided into three compartments: Medial (inside), lateral (outside), and patellar (kneecap). The surgeon will determine if one compartment needs to be replaced or will require a total knee replacement. Thanks to the precision of robotics, the partial option is becoming more common, with the replacements lasting now around 15-20 years.

Dr. Roche cited partial knee arthroplasty (PKA) is a viable surgical option for patients with endstage, unicompartmental (one compartment) osteoarthritis. Major advantages of PKA compared to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) include quicker recovery, less pain, and a lower complication rate. Age and activity level do not affect you as a candidate. Patients undergoing a PKA can expect a 96% chance of returning to preoperative activity levels, and 90% maintain or experience improvement in their sporting activities. In contrast, dissatisfaction rates hover between 14% and 20% for TKA.

Robotics allows surgeons to customize surgery and perform it safely, efficiently, and accurately, added Dr. Roche. The robot assists the surgeon in resecting millimeters of bone accurately, so the implant fits perfectly. Once the implants are cemented patients can start walking on their leg in under an hour. Patients can even go home the same day. Usually, after two to three weeks of therapy patients can resume their own exercise program, as motion and stability return quickly.

This article appeared in the print edition on March 21, 2021.