First robotic surgery gives granny '15 minutes of fame'

When a grandmother fell and severely injured her shoulder on Christmas Eve, she never thought a robot would be the one to surgically repair it.

Kerry Stubbings and her husband had embarked on a grey nomad adventure and were in Perth when she slipped out of a caravan, landing directly on her shoulder.

The pain got worse until she started losing function of her arm and was unable to open car doors or hang washing on the line, ensuring many sleepless nights.

Ms Stubbings needed medical attention so the couple made the lengthy drive back home to Mackay in far north Queensland.

"It was a long drive home," she told AAP.

The 66-year-old was sent to Townsville's Mater Hospital and was told she would need a total reverse shoulder replacement after tearing most of her tendons.

When Ms Stubbings got a call a few weeks later telling her that a robot would be doing the procedure in an Australian-first, she was shocked.

"I didn't expect it in my lifetime," she said.

"I thought this was just out of this world, it was amazing."

Orthopaedic surgeon Levi Morse explained the benefits of robotic surgery, saying it was less invasive, had smaller wounds, was more comfortable and had a better recovery time.

"That sealed the deal for me," Ms Stubbings said.

Townsville's Mater Hospital has had the Stryker Mako Ortho Robot since 2011 and has been performing knee and hip reconstructions.

But it was recently upgraded to include new technology for shoulder surgeries.

The robot has an implant plan uploaded before the surgery, then uses signalling devices in real time to detect the patient's bones and anatomy so that cuts are made within particular parameters, much like bumper bars at 10-pin bowling.

Ms Stubbings' surgery went very well, paving the way for more to be done, Dr Morse said.

Both Ms Stubbings and Dr Morse felt it was a huge honour to be part of the Australian-first surgery, with Mater Hospital becoming the sixth in the world to perform the procedure.

"It was a privilege to be selected to be the first surgeon, and even more so being in Townsville," Dr Morse said.

Ms Stubbings said her operation showed robotic surgery was safe and not something to be feared.

"It's a nice little legacy to pass on in the family history," she said.

"If I'm going to have 15 minutes of fame, I couldn't think of a better way to do it."

Her recovery is going well, and the grandmother is excited to have no pain when doing everyday tasks.

"Even just to lift something out of your wardrobe, a coat hanger or something," Ms Stubbings said.