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O R T H O P E D I C S
MINIMALLY INVASIVE
Why Muscle-Sparing Techniques Matter
here's pain, and then there are SPARE THE QUAD Minimally invasive
technique spares the quad and doesn't
the consequences of surgery. require knee dislocation.
Cutting and tearing the quadriceps muscle and dislocating the
knee, trademarks of conventional
knee replacement techniques, cause
trauma, which results in chemical
changes within the body. Blood flow
increases, swelling ensues and large amounts of fluid shift. Patients who
are older, unhealthy and without good reserves can develop serious
issues due to those changes, which most often contribute to post-op
complications. They are why patients must be monitored so closely after
surgery. On the other hand, my minimally invasive technique spares the
quad and doesn't require knee dislocation. Patients experience less postop pain, less trauma, fewer chemical changes and less severe fluid shifts.
After traditional knee replacement, the quad muscle, which has been
cut, doesn't function properly. Patients, however, need that muscle to
ambulate. They therefore experience pain and dysfunction, resulting in
incredibly long and tedious physical therapy sessions — hour-long workouts twice a day for several days — just to get on the road to recovery.
Because we don't cut the quad muscle, patients' knees function normally,
meaning they can get up and walk very soon after surgery. Physical therapy in recovery is brief. Patients can walk and negotiate stairs on their
own, letting them meet same-day discharge criteria. In fact, patients who
ambulate soon after surgery often have less pain than they experienced
due to arthritis in the joint just a few hours earlier.
— Richard Berger, MD
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Richard Berger, MD
T
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J U N E 2013
