Treatment Philosophy
When deciding upon treatment options for hip pain or knee pain due to arthritis, it is important to attempt the most conservative, least invasive modalities first. Hip/knee replacement surgery is always the last resort when other treatments have failed.
Many non-operative treatments exist. Activity modification, physical therapy, weight loss programs, bracing, assist devices, pain relievers, and injections may be effective ways to avoid a more invasive operation.
Surgical Treatment of Hip and Knee Arthritis
If all non-operative options have been exhausted, and joint pain from arthritis is still limiting your quality of life, joint replacement may be the last option. There is no medical cure for severe end-stage arthritis.
Fortunately, surgical treatment of hip and knee arthritis can be definitive. It involves excising the diseased painful ends of the bones at the joint, and replacing them with prosthetic implants, most commonly made of metal and plastic.
The goal of joint replacement surgery is to provide pain relief and to restore a basic functional level of low-impact exercise if other body systems are not limiting factors. The amount of exercise your hip/knee replacement can handle is related to the stress to which they are subjected. The more strenuous the demands placed upon a prosthetic implant, the sooner it will wear out. Implants placed in the last twenty years are capable of lasting several decades and appear to be able to withstand even longer periods.
Procedures
Total Hip Replacement
Dr. Lee performs the anterior hip replacement approach, allowing patients a quicker recovery.
He has experience using many different implant systems, including Depuy, Zimmer, Biomet, and Stryker. For the majority of patients, cementless implants are used with bone preserving constructs where possible.
Total Knee Replacement
Dr. Lee performs total knee replacement routinely without a tourniquet, sparing patients one of the major contributors to post-operative pain.
He has experience using many different implant systems, including Depuy, Zimmer, Stryker, and Smith & Nephew. He has performed robotic surgeries including MAKO-plasty. He has trained with and is working with some of the original developers of the Conformis custom knee implant.
Disclosure: Dr. Lee receives no royalties and does not own any stock in any of the orthopedic implant companies.