Sensor-assisted knee replacement method, gets patients active more quickly
Special to Leader-Press
Arthritis no longer slows down Joyce Pruitt after total knee replacement surgery at Coryell Memorial Hospital in April 2017. Like many patients, Pruitt had endured knee pain for years, and like many patients, faced the prospect of knee replacement.
The day after her total knee replacement surgery with the use of VERASENSE sensor-assisted total kne replacement at Coryell Memorial, she said she felt like a new woman.
“For years, I battled knee problems,” Pruitt says. “I had been putting off having my knee replaced, but I finally couldn’t live with the pain anymore. I had been doing steroid and rooster comb injections, but they just weren’t giving me any relief.”
Pruitt, a local business owner and grandmother who loves to travel, suffered from osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease in her knee.
After talking with her family, friends, and orthopedic surgeon Aaron Humphreys, MD, Pruitt decided that her knee was so bad it couldn’t become worse, and a total knee replacement was the best decision for her.
After surgery, Pruitt went faithfully three times a week to physical therapy and also did exercises at home, and her knee is now very flexible. Getting back to her active lifestyle is one of the best benefits of the knee replacement surgery.
“I was back at work at Pruitt’s Shell, part time, in less than a month and was able to travel to Aruba with friends. We went parasailing and had a blast. I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat,” said Pruitt.
“Joint replacements are one of the best surgeries a person can have,” Dr. Humphreys said. “They’re 95 to 98 percent effective in relieving pain. When you reach a point and nothing else is helping, or you’re in pain all, or most of the time, it’s time to have the surgery.
“Mrs. Pruitt recovered beautifully from surgery, and her commitment to physical therapy was a huge factor in her success.”
Dr. Humphreys uses OrthoSensor’s advanced VERASENSE sensor-assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) technology during all his total knee replacements. VERASENSE is a wireless sensor-assisted technology that transmits data about a patient’s knee during surgery, which enables Dr. Humphreys to use that data about your unique knee, to customize implant positioning and improve soft tissue balance.
VERASENSE is a disposable sensor-assisted device which harnesses the latest innovations in sensors and wireless communications – in primary and revision total knee replacement, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and satisfaction.
During surgery, Humphreys temporarily inserts VERASENSE between the components of the knee implant. As the knee is taken through a full range of motion, the sensor wirelessly sends data to a monitor in the operating room.
The real-time data helps him important decisions regarding soft tissue balance and to customize the implant position. Once the implant position is stabilized, the sensor is removed and replaced with a permanent implant.
Humphreys said that having quantifiable data to customize implant placement and improve knee balance offers his patients a much better chance at returning to normal activities faster and improved knee function.
Also, knee instability is a leading cause of patient dissatisfaction after total knee replacement. Before VERASENSE, surgeons generally relied on their “best judgment” in determining what “felt” like a balanced knee. The subjectivity of TKR, coupled with improper soft tissue balance and implant position, may result in premature implant failure and the need for revision surgery in the future.
In addition to less post-surgery pain, accelerated patient activity levels, increased functional outcomes and higher patient satisfaction, patients who have undergone Sensor-Assisted TKR have shown to be less likely to require revision surgery in the future.
For more information about VERASENSE sensor-assisted technology at Coryell Memorial, visit http://www.cmhos.org/physicians/aaron-g-humphreys-md and visit the VERASENSE website at https://www.orthosensor.com/patients/learn-about-sensor-assisted-surgery/.