Nathaniel Stewart, MD

A Giant Step Forward in Joint Replacement

If you’re reading this website, chances are you (or a loved one) are considering or preparing for joint replacement surgery. You’ve likely tried several non-surgical therapies, including anti-inflammatory medication, injections into your joint and physical therapy. Still, pain and limited movement may hold you back from doing the things you used to do without worry.

And now there’s even better news. Tremendous advances have been made in joint replacement that makes it a viable option for a greater number of people than ever before. Over the past four decades joint replacement has been proven to relieve severe joint pain and restore joint function in over 90% of patients undergoing the procedure.* As you read, make a note of anything you don’t understand. Your doctor will be happy to answer your questions so that you’ll feel comfortable and confident with your chosen treatment plan.

Leading Technology
During a joint replacement procedure, your surgeon will strive to ensure that everything is aligned properly. Accurate alignment of the hip or knee components is critical to the overall function of your new joint,^1,2 and it also plays a role in helping your joint feel healthy again, and helping the joint replacement to potentially last longer.

Computer-assisted technology has made it possible for your orthopaedic specialist to navigate joint replacement procedures with a level of accuracy so precise it may improve the results of your surgery.¹

What are some of the reasons orthopaedic surgeons choose computer-assisted technology?

• Provides your surgeon with comprehensive data about your anatomy which may result in more exact placement of your joint replacement
• Allows the surgeon to more accurately plan for your surgery with a partial 3-dimensional model of your hip or knee²
• Provides the surgeon with control, feedback and the ability to correct potential errors during the surgery¹
• Allows for better visualization of anatomy, which is particularly important when minimally-invasive techniques are used.
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  Cutting Edge Technology for Joint Replacements (Continued)

  Potential Benefits of Computer-Assisted Surgery
  There are several potential benefits for those that have computer-assisted surgery with their total joint replacement:

  • Designed to help your surgeon place joint replacement implants with precision, which may increase the life of your replacement¹
  • Reduces the risk of dislocation and revision surgery¹
  • Results in greater stability and range of motion^3,4
  • Helps improve the overall function of your joint replacement⁴

  Computer-assisted surgery may allow for less-invasive surgical techniques, which have several other potential advantages, including:

  • Reduced blood loss during surgery, which lessens the need for a blood transfusion⁸
  • Faster recovery⁷
  • Reduced length of your hospital stay⁶
  • Shorter post-operative physical rehabilitation⁷
  • Less scarring^5,7

  What Happens During Surgery? 
  Stryker Navigation technology uses special tracking devices, providing your surgeon a comprehensive understanding of your joint mechanics in the operating room (OR). Armed with this information, your surgeon can make adjustments within a fraction of a degree, helping to ensure your new joint has the stability and range of motion needed for a successful replacement.

  Specifically, the technology uses the latest advancements in science and computer engineering to make the procedure more accurate than joint surgery without it. As the surgeon moves an instrument within your joint, special infrared trackers calculate its position and wireless instruments instantaneously transfer the data to a computer in the OR. This information is then displayed on a monitor as an interactive model of the anatomy or “blueprint” that supplies the surgeon with all the angles, lines and measurements of your unique anatomy.

  The surgeon will then replace the diseased bone with new, artificial joint components often called prostheses or implants. Joint implants are engineered to replicate a normal, healthy joint.

  With certain techniques, your surgeon may use pins that hold trackers around the incision site of your joint. These temporary placeholders give the computer key information and may make the surgery even more exact, but it does mean the possibility of additional scarring at the pin points. Emerging technologies and alternative techniques may reduce the number of incisions and therefore reduce scarring. Talk to your doctor about these techniques.

  What are the Potential Risks?
  The risk factors associated with conventional total joint replacement remain. In addition, surgery time may be extended. Talk to your doctor about the types of joint surgery appropriate for you and the risks associated with any surgery.

   

  Patient Testimonial

  “...it is a little hard in the beginning but it is soooo worth it.”
  “I tell other patients that they should have surgery because they need it; and it is a little hard in the beginning but it is soooo worth it. Especially with this new navigation system. I’m back to gardening, sewing, walking, cooking.”

  — Jane Whippen, 66
  Total Joint Surgery with Stryker Navigation System
  2004

   

  You Don’t Have to Live with Severe Joint Pain

  You don’t have to live with severe joint pain and the limitations it creates in your life. If you haven’t experienced adequate relief with medication and other conservative treatments, joint replacement may provide a reduction in pain, enabling you to return to certain activities. Remember, even if your doctor recommends hip or knee replacement for you, the final decision is yours.

  For more information contact your doctor.

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  References:

  *National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference Statement: Total Knee Replacement, 12/10/03.

  1. Sikorski JM, Chauhan S. Computer-Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery: Do we need CAOS? J Bone Joint Surg 2003; 85- B:319-23. 
  2. Noble PC, Sugano N, Johnston JD, Thompson MT, Conditt MA, Engh CA Sr, Mathis KB. Computer Simulation: How can it help the surgeon optimize implant position? CORR. 2003 Dec; (417):242-52. 
  3. Widmer KH, Grutzner PA. Joint replacement-total hip replacement with CT-based navigation. Injury. 2004 Jun; 35 Suppl. 1:S-A84-9. 
  4. Klein GR, Parvizi J, Venkat RR, Mathew AS, Hozack WJ. Evaluation of in vivo knee kinematics by a computerized navigation system during total knee arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 2004 Dec; Vol. 19:986-91. 
  5. Keggi, Kristaps. Total hip arthroplasty through a minimally invasive anterior surgical approach, JBJS, Vol. 85-A. 
  6. Tria AJ, Minimal Incision Total knee Arthroplasty, CORR 2003, Vol 416. 
  7. Zanasi, Stefano. Minimally Invasive Computer-assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty through a Subvastus Approach, October 2006. Article from: Orthosupersite.com. 
  8. Kalairajah, et al. Blood Loss after total knee replacement, JBJS, Vol. 87-B, No. 11, Nov. 2005.