Better Hip Surgery
Reported November 8, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, about 120,000 Americans undergo hip replacement surgery each year. The procedure is highly successful, but recovery is often long and painful. Here’s how a new approach is changing that. Pat Brown knows what it takes to run a successful print shop. “It’s constant juggling all day long,” she says. “Decisions. Doing. You’re never bored.” But when arthritis in her hip slowed pat down, her normal 65-hour work week became a thing of the past. “It’s like you’re dragging a hundred-pound weight on your leg at all times. When you can’t stand, bend, walk, you can’t help.” Brown knew she needed surgery but was reluctant to get it. “I thought, ‘I can’t be out of work that long. I can’t be laid up that long.’ ” But orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Rosen, M.D., offered pat a less-invasive hip surgery. Instead of one long incision down the leg, he makes two tiny slits. He separates the muscles, instead of cutting them, which means less pain. “It’s a lot less traumatic to the tissues. There’s a lot less bleeding during surgery. The postoperative pain is a lot less. The hospital stay is a lot shorter, and the rehabilitation is a lot quicker,” Dr. Rosen, of Orlando Orthopedic Center/Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando, Fla., tells Ivanhoe. Here’s how it works. Dr. Rosen splits the muscles and implants a socket. Then, he cuts the bone, inserts a stem and puts a ball on top. That ball attaches to the socket. To get the large prosthesis through the one-inch incision, he has to be extremely precise. That precision pays off for patients like Brown. She was back to binding, lifting and boxing in just four weeks. That would have taken four months with standard surgery. Brown says, “Now that you can do it, you’re just living life large. You think, ‘I got it going on,’ and it’s just wonderful.” And for her, it doesn’t get any better than that. Dr. Rosen says the less-invasive surgery costs less than standard hip surgery because patients stay in the hospital fewer days. Less than 50 surgeons around the country are trained to perform the less-invasive approach. Overweight patients, those with osteoporosis, elderly patients who suffered hip fractures and those with hip deformities are not good candidates for this surgery.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Liz Holland
Orlando Orthopedic Center
100 West Gore St.
Suite 500
Orlando, FL 32860
(407) 254-2523
[email protected]
