Infection Control - St. Joseph Medical Center

orthopaedics
High-Demand, High-Tech
Knee Replacement
If you need a knee replacement and
you’re a real go-getter, intent on making
a comeback, the mobile bearing
knee could be just what the orthopaedic
surgeon orders.
According to Dr. John Naiman,
“People hit the ground running with this
type of knee replacement.” As an orthopaedic
surgeon who has been performing
this technically demanding knee replacement
for years, Naiman is very enthusiastic,
saying, “It’s a high-demand knee, It’s
for patients who lead very active lives.”
The mobile bearing knee has two
bearing interfaces instead of one with
the standard knee replacement. It provides
patients with a more fluid, natural
gait. However, “people have to be very
aggressive with their rehabilitation,”
emphasized Naiman.
For surgeons, the mobile knee is, “harder
to install; greater surgical precision is
required, but the benefits to be reaped are
well worth it,” he said. “St. Joseph is way
ahead of the curve. We’ve been offering
mobile knees for seven years, but they’ve
only been on the national market four
years. We have tremendous experience.”
Elaine Casey, age 61, opted for the
mobile knee after receiving
intermediate treatment from
Naiman for 14 years. “My
arthritis began in my 40s. I had
been taking Aleve and getting
cortisone shots. It was finally
time. I couldn’t walk from one
end of the mall to the other.”
Casey was back to work
in two months;
“It was supposed to be
a three-month recovery.
The outcome was better
than I thought it would be.
To anyone who needs
this knee replacement,
I say, ‘Go for it!’”
“Elaine is representative of younger,
active patients who are a good match for
the knee. She was very aggressive about
her recovery,” said Naiman.
Excellent rehabilitation
Rehabilitation at St. Joseph begins with an
“intraoperative pain cocktail that is injected
and allows people to be more active in
their immediate rehab and do what is necessary
to make the mobile bearing knee
work,” he said.
“I didn’t need oral pain medicine; I
threw it away. The recovery was amazing,”
said Casey.
Dr. John Naiman has
performed mobile bearing
knee replacements, which
provide a more natural
gait, for the past
seven years.
Naiman credits the outstanding
Orthopaedic Unit staff for the excellence
of St. Joseph’s rehabilitation outcome. “It’s
the occupational therapists, the physical
therapists and the nurses,” he said. “The
team gets patients up, active, and going
quickly. You work hard in the hospital but
that sets your path for rehabilitation.
The mobile bearing knee is attached
to the femur (thigh bone) with a porous
coating instead of cement. “The body’s
own bone grows into the coating and
bonds to the component,” said Naiman.
He has had patients who could compare
the traditional knee replacement
after coming to him for a mobile bearing
replacement for their second arthritic
knee. “People tell me that the mobile one
just feels better,” he said.
‰
Mobile Bearing Facts
• Good for high level of activity
• Requires good bone quality
• Depends on biologic ingrowth
• Technically demanding to install
• Needs aggressive rehabilitation
SJMcmd.org / St. Joseph Medical Center Fall 2009 11