Dr. Robert F. Greiner II, a surgeon at Centerpoint Medical Center Orthopedics. The hospital recently obtained the ProFX Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Table, a surgical table designed exclusively for hip and knee arthroplasty.
1 What’s the device used for?
It’s allowed for leg positioning in order to make the surgery easier. It’s used for people who have severe arthritic hips and hip fractures and pelvic fractures. It basically is used for minimally invasive anterior approach to hip replacement.
2 How is the person positioned on the table?
They lay flat on their back. Both their feet are hooked in sort of ski boots that fully articulate that rotate and flex that can drop the legs down or flex them up. With the table’s ability to position the leg, it allows me to replace the hip through a single incision without detaching the muscle from the pelvis or femur.
3 What are some advantages of using the device for hip replacements?
The advantages would be less recovery time. Standard hip replacements occur through a lateral or posterior position that can take six to 10 weeks of recovery because you’re cutting through muscle. The anterior approach allows for no muscles to be cut off or minimize the muscles being cut off. It’s much less invasive. Recovery time is two to four week.”
4 So that’s better for the patient then, right?
Definitely. Most of them are up walking within the next day without too much of a limp and a lot less pain.
5 Has this device been around for awhile?
It was actually made back in 2003 but it’s just expensive enough that it’s difficult to implement in multiple hospitals. It’s been slow to catch on but it’s really been a great advance in surgical approach to the hip.
– Michael Glover
Independence, MO —
