by
Kristen Fischer, DOTmed News | August 08, 2011
From the August 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
The trend is moving toward using chemical sterilization now, Marx adds.
Another advancement is the use of low-profile reamers. This involves a straight incision instead of a circular cut. Once inside, the drill makes a circular bore into the bone, but requires less surface area to be removed from the knee. This allows the physician to get better angles for more precise drilling.
Partial knee resurfacing offers alternative to total knee replacement
Patients with knee osteoarthritis may no longer require a total knee replacement. Dr. Marc W. Hungerford, director of joint replacement and reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center, has been performing MAKOplasty Partial Knee Resurfacing, which uses the RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System.
“Total knee arthroplasty or replacement remains the ‘gold standard’ for treating degenerative joint disease. It is also best suited for patients with late stage osteoarthritis—that is, where all three compartments of the knee are affected,” Hungerford said in a statement. “MAKOplasty Partial Knee Resurfacing offers a less invasive option for patients living with early to mid-stage knee osteoarthritis,” Hungerford said.
Mauna Kea Technologies
Studio Desvignes
The procedure involves resurfacing the diseased portion of the knee, which spares the patient’s healthy bone and surrounding tissue. An implant is then secured to the joint so the knee can move smoothly once again.
Arthroscopic advancements aren’t all about knees, either. A report released last month showed that using arthroscopy to treat hip impingement (or femoro-acetabular impingement)—which leads to arthritis and is recognized as a common cause for early osteoarthritis in the hip—is successful in restoring range of motion.
“This is the first study to show that in patients who are being treated for hip impingement with arthroscopy, not only do we restore their mechanical measurements, but by doing so, we have improved their functional range of motion across the joint,” says Dr. Bryan T. Kelly, co-director of the Center for Hip Pain and Preservation at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
