State of the Art Joint Replacement Surgery

Active “boomers” are learning to their consternation that painful, arthritic joints have crept up on them unnoticed while they were working and playing hard, and getting in the way of their vigorous lifestyle.

Medication, rest, and slowing down doesn’t cut it for this busy crowd.

Computer guided and less invasive hip and knee surgery, however, are newer methods that can mean a quicker return to favorite activities.

Total Joint surgery of the painful, arthritic hip and knee can, in the right hands, be more accurate and less invasive using MIS (minimally invasive surgical) and computer navigation techniques.

In addition, updated anesthetic and pain control methods aid in achieving more post-op comfort and less narcotic related post-op nausea and drowsiness.

As a result, patients can have shorter hospital stays, less post-operative pain, easier rehabilitation, and quicker return to their normal activities.

Most all patients with advanced joint arthritis can benefit from these latest innovations; I have yet to find a patient who requires traditional large incision surgery.

Our office’s goal is to streamline our patients’ experience while undergoing their joint replacement procedure and bring them back to a normal lifestyle as free of their pre-op arthritis related pain and disability as possible.

We emphasize pre-op education of our patients, pre-op introduction to their upcoming physical therapy and exercise routine, home safety preparation, and thorough pre-op medical clearance in collaboration with each patient’s primary care physician or internist.

In short, we CARE, and hopefully this is reflected in better outcomes for our patients.

What is a “Gender Specific” Total Knee Replacement?

Total Knee Replacement is a successful procedure to help eliminate the pain of severe knee arthritis.  A range of large to small sizes of implants is available at surgery to allow the arthritis specialist to match the correct size implant to each individual patient.

Yet, as good a fit as we usually get, it has become clear that the overall shape of a woman’s knee is different from a man’s.  Although women received 63% of all knee replacements, most implants from all manufactures match the anatomy of a male knee.  Armed with anatomic studies for women’s thighbone dimensions, new Gender Specific implants are available which address the differences in shape of female knees.  One wonders what has preoccupied the attention of orthopedic surgeons in the past…another case of “vive la difference”!

Total Knee Replacement in women using Gender Specific implants can result in a better fit, avoiding compromises which may affect the overall comfort and range of motion a female patient might experience after knee replacement surgery.  For more info see www.genderknee.com.

The Gender Specific knee is an improvement in the evolution of joint replacement technology, but is not a substitute for meticulous surgery, expert surgical judgment, and proactive exercise after surgery.  Like Minimally Invasive Surgical techniques and Computer Navigation, it is one more tool I employ in my quest for still better results in total joint replacement surgery.