Joint replacement surgery represents one of the greatest contributions to orthopedics in the last century. There are few other treatment
interventions in all of medicine that boast as high a success rate in improving both quality of life and general health. If the pain of arthritis substantially interferes with even simple daily activities, joint replacement surgery can restore comfort and function.
The Joint Replacement Program at Seacoast Orthopedics and Sports Medicine is dedicated to patient satisfaction and long-term outcomes in the treatment of arthritis. We offer a full spectrum of service in hip, knee, shoulder and elbow replacement including Minimally Invasive Surgery. We use a multi-modal team approach that includes comprehensive pain management techniques, clinical pathways that enhance patient safety and minimize complications, and early mobilization programs.
Put our team to work for you.
What Sets Us Apart:
- By concentrating in this specialized field, our team of experts stays on top of the latest treatments and technological advances yielding better results for their patients.
- We take a comprehensive approach to treating arthritis to maximize patient outcomes and offer a full spectrum of treatments from therapeutic injections and aquatic rehabilitation, to arthroscopic surgery and joint replacement.
Our Services:
Knee Arthritis Services:
- Arthroscopic debridement of early knee arthritis
- Total knee replacement surgery
- Small incision knee replacement surgery
- Revision knee replacement surgery
- Unicompartmental Knee Surgery
Knee Arthritis Patient Education Resources:
Hip Arthritis Services:
- Conventional hip replacement surgery
- Use of modern bearing surface technology like ceramics
- Revision surgery for failed hip replacement
Hip Arthritis Patient Education Resources:
Shoulder Arthritis Services:
- Arthroscopic debridement and release of early shoulder arthritis
- Conventional shoulder replacement
- Regenerative shoulder replacement for arthritis in young and high demand patients
- Shoulder replacement for failed rotator cuff surgery with the new reverse prosthesis
- Revision shoulder replacement surgery
Shoulder Patient Education Resources:
Elbow Arthritis Services:
- Arthroscopic debridement and release of early elbow arthritis
- Conventional elbow replacement surgery
- Revision elbow replacement surgery
Elbow Arthritis Patient Education Resources:
About Minimally Invasive Joint Replacement Surgery
Improvements in instrument design and surgical techniques have allowed surgeons to perform joint replacement surgery using smaller incisions. This is especially true for hip replacement surgery where some centers use special navigation tools to implant artificial joints using more cosmetically appealing incisions. While this is an important advancement and trend, it is important for patients to understand “minimally invasive surgery” in greater detail. This concept has become something of a marketing tool for joint replacement surgery to the extent that many patients equate the success of surgery with the length of the skin incision.
The true success of a joint replacement procedure is measured in long-term relief of pain and survival of the artificial parts. There is currently no evidence in the medical literature to suggest that these outcomes are any better with smaller incisions. In fact, the complication rate is higher with smaller incisions because the surgeon’s ability to visualize the anatomy and component placement may be compromised with the reduced exposure. There are reports of higher rates of fracture, dislocation and improper component position with the use of minimally invasive techniques.
While there have been reports of reduced hospital stays with smaller incisions, the length of stay again is not a measure of success. To the extent that many patients undergoing joint replacement have other medical problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, early hospital discharge may, in fact, place patients at risk for medical complications following surgery.
It is also important for patients to realize that small incisions are only possible in some cases. Patients who are overweight or have large muscle mass are not amenable to small incisions because sufficient exposure cannot be obtained to safely reconstruct the joint. Because arthritis tends to be more common in heavier patients, only a minority of patients are candidates for reduced incision length.
At Seacoast Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, our focus is on long term outcomes. We believe in reducing incision size to minimize blood loss and tissue damage. However, we do not jeopardize the safety or success of the joint replacement for the sake of a small incision insofar as it may complicate the procedure. Many of the techniques in minimally invasive joint replacement surgery are still in development and some still considered experimental. We are committed to applying advanced techniques in joint replacement surgery when they are proven safe and effective for our patients.
For more information about minimally invasive joint replacement procedure, the following advisory links will guide you: