During joint replacement surgery, putting the new joint in exactly the right place is vital to help that joint work naturally and last as long as possible. New navigation technology uses advanced computer programming in addition to your surgeon’s expertise to ensure that new joints are perfectly aligned to relieve pain and improve function.
Navigation technology personalizes your joint replacement surgery to maximize your joint function. The right placement may help you move more easily and prevent wear on the new joint. The navigation technology also helps accurately size the knee so you receive a prosthetic joint that is the right size for your anatomy. Our joint replacement experts have been offering this technology to our patients since 2015.
Who Is a Candidate?
Any patient undergoing replacement surgery may be a candidate for navigation technology. It may be especially helpful if you have complex joint deformities that require very specific alignment of your new joint.
What to Expect
Joint replacement surgeries using navigation technology will be very similar to any other surgery in terms of time of surgery, cost, and recovery time. You’ll be under anesthesia or sedation throughout the procedure.
Once your surgeon has made incisions in your joint, sensors will be carefully attached to your limb so the computer through a camera could analyze and track the position and alignment of your extremity. Your surgeon will bend and move your joint so the computer can collect data on how your unique joint works.
After the computer has collected data, it uses a specialized program to create a 3-D model of your joint on the screen, allowing your physician to see areas of the bone they could not before. This allows your surgeon to determine exactly where to remove damaged bone and where to place the prosthetic joint.
Recovery from joint replacement surgery with navigational technology is the same as other joint replacement surgeries. However, the more accurate placement could help your joint replacement last longer and move more smoothly.
Why Choose UHealth?
Highly experienced in treating a full range of orthopaedic conditions. Our team of fellowship-trained orthopaedic specialists works together with a multidisciplinary group of physicians and scientists to provide high-quality care to people with benign (noncancerous) and malignant (cancerous) conditions. These include musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid and other autoimmune arthritides, post-traumatic arthritis, avascular necrosis, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, metastatic diseases, benign neoplasms of bone and soft tissue, and all types of orthopedic injuries.
Specialized joint replacement care. When you receive a joint replacement at the University of Miami Health System, your surgeon is an expert in the field who only dedicates his time performing joint replacement procedures. Our experienced physicians perform more than a thousand primary and complex joint replacements each year, using the latest advances in technology like minimally invasive hip replacement techniques and patient specific knee replacements. You can rely on their skills to relieve your joint pain and get you back to activities you love
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