Joint Replacement Procedures
Hip Replacement
Hip replacement is one of the most important surgical advances of this century. Replacing a diseased or damaged hip can relieve pain and restore mobility so you can resume a healthy lifestyle. If you suffer from severe arthritis or injury and have already tried medications, modified activity levels and physical therapy, you may be a candidate for hip replacement surgery.
Anterior Approach to Hip Replacement Surgery
During your hip replacement surgery, your surgeon may elect to perform the procedure using a technique called the anterior approach. The anterior approach allows the surgeon to reach the patient's hip joint from the front as opposed to the side or back of the hip. With the anterior approach, the surgeon can replace the hip without detachment of muscle from the pelvis or femur during the surgery. Potential benefits include less pain, reduced tissue healing time, reduced risk of dislocation and a shorter hospital stay.
Computer-Guided Knee Replacement
Thanks to an advanced, computerized MRI-based mapping tool, Northwest Health - Porter can perform full knee replacements with better accuracy. Before a single incision is made, your surgeon creates the ideal alignment between the hip, knee and ankle—allowing for a more functional, natural-feeling new joint. Additionally, this precision often means less post-operative pain, better post-operative range of motion and less recovery time.
As an alternative to total knee replacement, Northwest Health - Porter also offers partial knee resurfacing (PKR). This procedure may be an option if your arthritis is confined to one area of the knee, and conservative treatments like physical therapy, medication or weight loss no longer provide relief.
Because only a single portion of the knee is replaced, you may experience less discomfort, a shorter hospital stay, less physical therapy and more rapid healing. Many patients walk the same day as surgery and are back to driving and daily activities within two weeks.
Shoulder Replacement
The shoulder is the most movable joint in the body, but that very flexibility makes it prone to both sudden injury and chronic wear. After age 40, many problems are caused by the effect of repeated overhead motions over a long period of time. Weekend athletes and do-it-yourselfers are especially vulnerable to overuse problems - including arthritis resulting from a damaged or torn rotator cuff.
If you're suffering with a severely stiff and painful shoulder, and non-invasive treatments like physical therapy haven't worked, you may be a candidate for total shoulder replacement. At Northwest Health - Porter, surgeons perform two types of shoulder replacement procedures to help relieve pain and restore strength and motion.
Total Shoulder Replacement
The typical total shoulder replacement involves replacing the arthritic joint surfaces with a highly polished metal ball attached to a stem, and a plastic socket. Patients with bone-on-bone osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis and intact rotator cuff tendons are generally good candidates for conventional total shoulder replacement. You may also qualify if you've sustained severe trauma from a shoulder fracture.
Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
If you have a large rotator cuff tear and severe arthritis and/or arm weakness, your surgeon may recommend a reverse total shoulder replacement. In this procedure, the socket and metal ball switch places. The metal ball is fixed to the socket and the plastic cup is fixed to the upper end of the humerus. This allows you to use the deltoid muscle instead of the torn rotator cuff to lift the arm.