Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Robotic-assisted technologies have been developed to increase surgical precision and reduce surgical variability in Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). The aim of this study is to compare the budget impact of the imageless VELYS ^TM Robotic-Assisted Solution (VRAS) compared to manual TKA (mTKA) in patients undergoing primary TKA from both the hospital and the global payer perspective, in Spain.
METHODS: We developed a budget impact (BI) model to estimate costs of primary TKA over 7 years (corresponding to the robot lifespan). The model is inclusive of all relevant potential primary TKA resources, such as surgery costs (including robot capital purchase, disposables, maintenance service fees and operating theater), tray sterilization, length of stay, readmissions, follow-up visits, physiotherapy sessions and revisions. Data on clinical parameters and costs were collected from literature, public tariffs, and National DRG tariffs. We assumed a cohort of 250 patients per hospital would enter the model each year.
RESULTS: Over 7 years, the budget impact associated with the use of VRAS resulted in overall savings of €735,308 from the hospital’s perspective, translating to €420 per TKA. These savings were primarily attributed to a reduction in tray sterilization costs (-8,750 trays) and length of stay (-1,812 days). Additionally, from the global payer’s perspective, the adoption of VRAS led to overall savings of €1,442,949 equating to €825 per TKA. In addition to the tray sterilization and length of stay cost reductions, additional savings were attributed to 14 revision surgeries and 14 readmissions avoided and 8,663 physiotherapy sessions and 38 follow-up visits avoided.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared to mTKA, VRAS was associated with resource optimization and cost savings from both the hospital and the global payer perspective, in Spain.