More Options Lead to Better Results

At Penn, We Use the Latest Technology to Provide Options to Patients in Need of a Joint Replacement.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer from severe hip and knee arthritis, a condition in which the cartilage on the surface of the bone wears away, causing significant pain. Often, their best hope for regaining mobility and lessening pain is joint replacement surgery.

Long-term success of joint replacement depends on proper alignment of the prosthesis to the existing bone and tissue. Alignment accuracy in traditional replacement surgery depends on the surgeon hand-marking X-rays and CT scans which act as a guide for the surgeon throughout the procedure. While these surgeries can be successful, they usually require long recovery times, large incisions and significant postoperative pain.

Revolutionary Technology
But, at the Penn Orthopaedic Institute at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, surgeons are performing image-guided minimally invasive surgery to improve accuracy in total hip and knee replacements. Using this surgical navigation system, the computer generates an exact three-dimensional model of the patient's anatomy, enabling more precise alignment during surgery.

This revolutionary technology, available at only a few academic medical centers throughout the country, allows Penn doctors to fine tune alignment and study both mobility and range of motion prior to completing the joint replacement procedure.

Hip Replacements
Furthermore, Penn is the only facility in the region offering the 2-incision minimally invasive Total Hip Replacement technique. In traditional hip replacement surgery, one large incision is made through the muscles to expose the hip joint and insert new joint components.

Using this new minimally invasive method, Penn orthopaedic surgeons make two small incisions each at the front and the back of the hip. Rather than cutting through the muscles, they separate them to insert new joint components. Although this approach is not appropriate for all patients, it potentially enables many patients to maintain muscle strength, recover more quickly and experience less pain.

Full joint replacement is not always the answer to every patient's needs. “We tailor our treatment to the needs of the individual patient,” says Penn Presbyterian Medical Center's Craig Israelite, MD. We also offer patients the option of partial knee replacement. This procedure removes only the most damaged areas of cartilage and replaces them rather than replacing the whole joint, allowing for a smaller incision, faster recovery and preservation of the patient's joint.

Highest Quality Services
Our team at Penn Orthopaedics includes a multidisciplinary group of physicians and other health professionals who are committed to providing the highest quality services to patients. Our board certified orthopaedic surgeons are committed not only to treating individual patients according to their specific needs, but also to educating and training other orthopaedic surgeons in the state-of-the-art techniques they use on a regular basis.

Through our relentless pursuit of advancement, we continue to lead the way in surgical and non-surgical methods of treatment. When a problem develops that makes movement painful or even impossible, more options mean better results, which is why where you turn first matters most.

	Need an appointment? Request one online 24 hours/day, 7 days/week or call 800-789-PENN (7366) to speak to a referral counselor.