Why such a quick “yes”?
“First, I’m a paramedic, and I’ve always been interested in medical advances,” says Mr. Yelich, 68, of West Newton. “Second, I’m a fan of science and science fiction. And third, I trust Mike. He is a wonderful man. If he told me he wanted to use a robot, I had no problem with that.”
Dr. O’Malley replaced Mr. Yelich’s left knee about five years ago, before Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery arrived at UPMC. “That first surgery went well,” Mr. Yelich remembers. “But I was in the hospital for two and a half days, and my rehab took seven or eight weeks.
“This second one, the right knee, I did as an outpatient. That amazed me. I was in the hospital for eight hours, and then I went home. And my rehab time was a little less than five weeks. I was up and down with no problems at all.”