McKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) – A McKinney Hospital has a new surgeon who’s changing the lives of patients.
But this surgeon is a robot and taking the pain and long recovery out of a surgery many of us will need in our lifetime.

Charlette Bickham needed knee replacement surgery after years of running and weightlifting made even walking difficult.   “One night I was coming across the parking lot of a grocery store and it flashed in mind mind what if fall and I’m out here by myself and someone hits me,” says Bickham.

The 48-year-old Allen woman thought she was too young for the operation and didn’t want unslightly scaring and a long recovery.   “I’m pretty sure I would have avoided it females have a tendency to be a little more vain and the thought of an 8 inch scar was not appealing whatsoever,” says Bickham.

But a robot changed Bickham’s mind and addressed her concerns.

On Tuesday, CBS 11 was in the operating room at Medical Center of McKinney where doctors showed how the Makoplasty robot is making knee and hip surgery more convenient for Bickham and thousands of other North Texans who will need it as the population ages.

“A lot of people will need this procedure particularly the Baby Boomer population,” says Dr. Charles Toulson.

The robot can produce a much more precise cut than a human sparing healthy tissue and bone from damage that can lengthen a patient’s recovery time.

Doctors spend more time watching monitors while the robot does most of the work in less time than conventional surgery.

For Bickham, it means being back on the treadmill in a few weeks instead of 3 months.

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