Aberdeen’s Albyn Hospital will become the first facility in Scotland to offer hip, knee, and partial knee replacement surgery using a robot.

Costing more than £1 million, the robotic-assisted equipment will place the privately-run north-east hospital at “the cutting edge” of surgery technology. The Stryker Mako system has been described as the “most important step” in joint replacement surgery over the past 30 years.

The first of its kind in Scotland, the hospital hopes that the new surgical robot will attract patients to the area from across the country, thereby establishing Aberdeen as a centre of excellence.

The technology will be used to help surgeons perform joint replacement procedures faster and more accurately. It is hoped this will result in better outcomes and reduced patient time in hospital.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Martin Mitchell said: “This is a major advance forward in joint replacement surgery – in my opinion, the most important step forward for the last 20-30 years.

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“Patients have been shown to have less pain post-op and they are able to get out of bed, get up on-ward and get home more quickly. That’s almost certainly because the robot has not allowed us to damage the soft tissue around the joint itself.

“When we are doing it through conventional, traditional methods there is a little bit of damage caused – this eliminates that. We are now able to be far, far more accuracy.”

Surgeons operating at the Aberdeen facility will be at the forefront of research into the impact of using this robotic arm in orthopaedic operations. The only other type of equipment similar to this in Scotland is located in another private hospital in Edinburgh, making Albyn Hospital unique in its offering.

The hospital’s executive director, Stuart Storrie, said: “Geographically, this puts us right at the centre of treatment in Scotland. Anyone from Tayside, Moray, the Highlands and Islands we’re well placed to do this.

“Having this partnership with Stryker will help us attract surgeons and staff who are excited to use the technology. But the big thing is for our patients, we’re a very busy hospital but we hope it will attract more from further afield.”