When to Consider Joint Replacement Surgery

Long-term pain makes life challenging. Everyday activities become chores, and you find yourself skipping the things you love because they hurt too much.

Depending on your injury, it might be time to look into joint replacement therapy. These procedures have come a long way in the past decade, helping patients like you live pain-free lives.

Unsure about joint replacement surgery? Keep reading to learn more about the different types of outpatient procedures offered by CORE Orthopedics that will help you feel better, faster.

What is Joint Replacement Surgery?

Joint replacement surgery, also known as Arthroplasty, is a procedure where the surgeon replaces worn-out or damaged bone and cartilage in your natural joint with a prosthetic implant.

These artificial joints are composed of materials such as metal, plastic, or ceramic.

Depending on your needs, your surgeon may perform full or partial joint replacement surgery.

While arthritis is one of the most common reasons for Arthroplasty, this treatment also relieves joint pain, stiffness, mobility issues, swelling, and instability.

Hip and knee replacement surgery are the two most common procedures, with over a million replacements performed every year in the United States.

Using minimally invasive techniques, Dr. Daniel Kuesis has helped patients go back to living a happy, pain-free life.

CORE Orthopedics Joint Replacement Services & Procedures

Hip

At CORE Orthopedics, Dr. Kuesis performs a full range of orthopedic procedures for the hip, specializing in minimally invasive hip surgeries, and total replacement.

The mini total hip replacement requires a small incision to replace any diseased or damaged portions of the hip joint. During the procedure, the doctor removes the femur from the hip socket and the damaged femoral head from the femur. 

Towards the end of the procedure, the end of the femur is hollowed out, and a metal implant is placed into the top of the femur.

While this sounds like a lot, the small incision allows for faster and safer recovery than more traditional methods.

A total hip replacement replaces damaged hip joints with implants that recreate the ball and socket of a healthy hip. While in surgery, a metal socket is placed into the hip cavity and a metal implant is placed into the top of the femur.

Once the metal ball is attached to the implant, the components are attached to create the new hip joint.

One of the best advancements is the Anterior Hip Replacement, Anterior Approach.

This shares a lot of similarities with a total hip replacement except the incision is to the front anterolateral portion of the hip. Because of this approach, recovery time is shorter, there are fewer postoperative restrictions, and the patient can go home the same day.

Dr. Keusis will work with you to identify which procedure is best for you.

Knee

CORE Orthopedics provides different knee replacement options depending on the severity of the injury and what is best for a patient’s interests.

The partial knee replacement uses an OXFORD implant to replace only the damaged parts of the knee. This is a less invasive procedure that uses metal and plastic implants that last longer.

If a patient’s knee is severely damaged, the doctor might recommend a total knee replacement.

During the surgery, your surgeon replaces damaged parts with a metal femoral component, a metal tibial component, a plastic spacer, and sometimes a small plastic patellar component.

Because of the amount of stress placed on your body, patients will need physical therapy for full recovery.

Dr. Kuesis offers knee replacement surgeries with the increasingly popular, patient-specific custom cutting blocks. 

Using computer-assisted tools, we use patient-specific instruments that cut down surgery times and improve implant alignment. 

Another specialty of Dr. Kuesis’s is short-stay joint replacement surgery. These procedures are minimally invasive and allow patients to walk out of the hospital or medical center on their own after a short stay.

Same-Day/Outpatient Joint Replacement

Similar to a traditional knee replacement, outpatient knee and hip replacement surgeries involve many of the same steps, with the only differences being the location of the operation and the length of time spent in the hospital.

Outpatient procedures are quicker and get you home feeling better sooner.

What makes Dr. Keusis different is his specialization in minimally invasive techniques, which allow patients a safer, shorter surgical experience.

When to Consider Joint Replacement

Three factors contribute to whether or not you need joint replacement surgery.

The first is chronic or severe pain. Pain at rest, at night, or anytime that is excruciating means something is wrong. We want to help you live pain-free as soon as possible, so knee or hip replacement surgery might be necessary.

If you’ve already tried conservative treatments (pain medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, injections, and physical therapy) and have seen no relief, then the next step might be joint replacement surgery.

Limited mobility and stiffness usually indicate that joint replacement surgery is on the table. If you are someone whose life has been negatively affected by joint pain or stiffness, we want to help.

There often is an X-ray and exam done before moving forward, so it’s important to work with a doctor you trust.

Dealing with Ongoing Pain? Get Relief Now with CORE Orthopedics.

Are you struggling with chronic pain that just isn’t getting better? Call CORE Orthopedics and speak with a dedicated team with a full range of services from physical therapy to outpatient joint replacement therapy.

Our expert doctors know how to help you get back to the life you deserve.

Schedule your appointment with CORE Orthopedics today.