My involvement in total joint development and technology is deeply personal.

I’m a 50-year-old surfer who played sports in high school and college. I had injuries that required surgery in my youth. As a result, I have arthritis in my hips and knees and recognize that I will be looking at total joint replacements in my future.

When I surveyed the implants and technology, there was nothing yet available that I would want for myself or for my patients.

Traditional total knee replacement requires the sacrifice of the anterior cruciate ligament, commonly known as the ACL, and some designs sacrifice the posterior cruciate ligament as well.

It seemed odd to me that I would spend Fridays doing ACL reconstructions and Mondays removing healthy ACLs when I did total knee replacements.

So, I worked to assist in the development of a new type of knee replacement that preserves all of the knee ligaments and functions as a true knee resurfacing.

“Resurfacing” means placing an artificial cap over the damaged bone without disrupting other healthy tissue. This gives patients a knee that has the desired combination of range of motion and stability for optimal function and return to high-level activities such as surfing and skiing.

With robotic assistance, we can now do knee-replacement surgery with accuracy and precision within a fraction of a millimeter of accuracy. This allows for a less- invasive surgery and achievement of precision balancing of all four knee ligaments so that patients have a faster recovery.

Recently, I served as chairman of the 4th International Course in Robotic Surgery at University Hospital in Singapore.

In Asia, there is great demand for bicruciate-sparing total knee replacement combined with robotic-assisted surgery because these technologies together enable patients to achieve flexion needed for high-level activities and a more-rapid recovery.

It was very exciting to see how technology that we have helped develop at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai is being integrated and applied around the world.

During the conference, I presented several lectures about the future of knee replacement and how robotic surgery is reshaping the future of orthopedics.

You can hear me talk more on this subject at “Getting a Grip on Arthritis” 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Presented by the Hawai‘i Pacific Health Bone & Joint Centers, this free community wellness seminar will feature a panel of fellow experts discussing a variety of treatments and methods to help you manage your bone and joint health.

To register or for more information, visit HawaiiPacificHealth.org/GettingAGrip.