Minimally Invasive (MIS) Total Knee Replacement &
CAS – Computer Assisted Surgical Techniques

Minimally Invasive Total Knee Replacement

Dr. McAllister using minimally invasive techniques on all of this total knee replacements since January, 2003. He has been involved in the initial development of the technique and minimally invasive instruments for 8 years. These techniques focus on smaller instruments, less soft tissue disruption, and gentler methods in an effort to allow easier recovery and better range of motion after knee replacement. With the new procedure, a surgeon can replace a knee joint via a 4-inch cut versus the standard 12-inch incision commonly used in total knee replacement surgery today.

Patients who have had a knee replaced via the traditional approach often spend a week or more in the hospital and the recovery time can take months. With a smaller incision, the kneecap and joint do not have to be dislocated and the quad muscles may be manipulated out of the way rather than cut. As a result, there is typically less trauma to the soft tissue and patients may heal faster. Often patients can flex their knees, walk unassisted, and may get into and out of bed as quickly as 24 to 48 hours after surgery. The results of Dr. McAllister’s work in MIS total knees were recently published at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Washington, D.C. Dr. McAllister has written and lectured extensively on these new techniques and has done a number of broadcasts and labs demonstrating the methods to surgeons from all over the nation.

More than 300,000 total knee replacements are performed annually in the United States. A vast majority of patients may stand to greatly benefit if they have their knee joint replaced with this new minimally invasive approach. Unlike other MIS techniques that only work on fit, slim patients this new procedure can typically be used with equal success on all patients, regardless of weight or physical deformity. This new procedure offers hope to the rapidly aging population. Baby boomers have spent years pursuing high-demand activities and they are quickly nearing the age at which they stand to benefit most from such new surgical techniques.

Now, Dr. McAllister is also combining this procedure with new computer navigation technology. This new technology uses wireless transmitters to communicate with a computer in the operating room. The computer provide real-time, 3-D imaging and guides the surgeons cuts. It also confirms the accuracy of the cuts. The new computer equipment, used very often for precision neurosurgery, allows orthopedic surgeons to more accurately align the implant. Navigation technology helps doctors align the implant accurately through smaller incisions that may decrease the surgeon's field of view.

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