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Saint Barnabas Medical Center Physician is One of Only a Few Orthopedic Surgeons Nationwide Trained in Dramatic New Partial Knee Surgery Livingston, NJ -- In the today’s fast-paced world, few people have the luxury of taking off months of work. Yet for many individuals, the continued pain caused by arthritis of the knee leads them to total knee replacement surgery and the months of rehabilitation and missed work that accompany it. Now, with the help of an experienced orthopedic surgeon using a revolutionary new minimally invasive surgical technique called unicompartmental, or partial, knee replacement surgery, patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Center are leaving the hospital within 24 hours and returning to full, pain-free activity in a week. Richard Rosa, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, is one of only a handful of orthopedic surgeons nationwide who have significant experience performing the new unicompartmental surgery. He has performed the procedure on 250 patients in three years, far more than any other physician in the state. “There is a great deal of excitement in the orthopedic community about this procedure because it presents a much more appealing alternative to individuals in the early stages of arthritis,” says Dr. Rosa. “The minimally invasive procedure requires the physician to make an incision that is only about three inches long, as compared to 10 to 12 inches in total knee replacement. Instead of replacing the entire knee, only one of three compartments of the knee is involved. Since most arthritis patients have one compartment with the most severe cartilage loss, the orthopedic surgeon can replace just the diseased compartment with a durable metal and polyethylene (plastic) device. As news of this significant procedure has spread, Dr. Rosa has had patients travel to his office from across New Jersey and from other states. “I feel like I have my knees back again,” says Nancy Gerechoff, former patient and resident of Deal, N.J. “I was out and about in a week after the knee surgery. I came home with pain pills and did not take one. It went so well that I went back four months later and had the other knee done.” Ms. Gerechoff searched for surgical options after seeing the extensive six-month recovery of a friend who had total knee replacement. Her recovery after the unicompartmental procedure was swift, and she even walked with a cane across the street to a bake sale the day after surgery. A real estate agent, Ms. Gerechoff now finds that she can climb the stairs necessary for her job without the pain she previously experienced. Having traveled from southern New Jersey to reach Dr. Rosa, Ms. Gerechoff keeps pamphlets from his office and has referred several friends for the procedure. More than 18 million people in the United States suffer from osteoarthritic knee, a degenerative disease that destroys cartilage. Symptoms include pain and limitation of activities to accommodate the condition. For those not helped by medications or injections, total joint replacement surgery is often the final option. While physicians have been doing partial knee surgery since the 1970s, the incision that was used was just as large as in total joint replacement. The new procedure uses a small incision that allows the surgeon to avoid cutting through the thigh muscle. “Most of my patients get up and can put full weight on their knee two hours after surgery,” reports Dr. Rosa. “They come back in two weeks walking with or without a cane and able to bend the knee more than 90 degrees without therapy. Generally they are delighted and very thankful. For me as a surgeon, the results have been most gratifying” Unicompartmental surgery relieves pain and restores function through minimally invasive surgery in one section of the knee. Generally, an overnight hospital stay is required and most patients require little or no physical therapy as compared to three months of intensive therapy following total knee replacement surgery. In addition, says Dr. Rosa, patients report decreased joint pain, increased activity and enhanced quality of life after unicompartmental surgery. The device implanted in the knee for unicompartmental surgery generally lasts 10 or more years before replacement is needed, says Dr. Rosa. “For a patient in their 50 or 60s, I can give them 10 years of more normal knee function and less time spent in recovery from the surgery,” says Dr. Rosa. “For those age 70 and above, there is a good possibility that the unicompartmental surgery is the only procedure they will ever need because 90 percent of these partial knee replacements are still functioning well 10 years later.” Now looking forward to years at full function, Ms. Gerechoff praises Dr. Rosa surgery, adding, “I would definitely recommend this procedure to people. I think it is wonderful what they can do today.” For more information about unicompartmental knee surgery, please call Dr. Rosa’s office at (973) 379-3796 [ top ] |
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