The physicians practicing at the West Tennessee Bone & Joint Clinic are Dr. Lowell Stonecipher, Dr. Mike Cobb, Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Kelly Pucek, Dr. Harold Antwine III, Dr. David Pearce, Dr. Jason Hutchison, Dr. Adam Smith, Dr. Doug Haltom and Dr. John Everett.
The clinic is at 24 Physicians Drive. For more information, call 888-661-9825 or visit www.wtbjc.com.
Other stories with our doctors
Customized knee surgery gets better results
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The Smith & Nephew implants used in tandem with Visionaire instruments are made with an exclusive technology to custom fit to a patient's knee. |
A new technologically-advanced surgical procedure is customizing knee replacement surgery for each individual patient. The result is a knee implant that works more naturally for the patient and may last longer.
"Visionaire Patient-Matched technology is a remarkable system that uses your MRI and x-ray images to design and build surgical instruments customized for your unique knee anatomy," said Dr. Kelly Pucek, who is one of several physicians at West Tennessee Bone & Joint Clinic, P.C., who have been trained to do the patient-customized, knee replacement surgery.
"Every person's knee joint has subtle differences in shape and contour," he explained, "but traditional surgical instruments that are used to place knee implants are one-size-fits-all." Traditionally, an orthopedic surgeon spends time during the procedure adapting to the patient's knee "terrain" in order to achieve the proper placement of the implant. "Misalignment is the leading cause of early implant failure, and it also can cause pain and instability," said Dr. Pucek.
With the Visionaire technology, explained Dr. Jason Hutchison, who also practices at West Tennessee Bone & Joint, the orthopedic surgeon comes to the operating room equipped with instruments engineered exclusively for the patient's knee by Smith & Nephew, an innovator in orthopedic implants. The computer-guided precision of Visionaire Patient-Matched technology also assists the surgeon in choosing the correct implant size that matches the dimensions of the patient's knee and helps the surgeon accurately place the knee implant.
When possible, the orthopedic surgeons at West Tennessee Bone & Joint Clinic use minimally-invasive surgical techniques with the Visionaire instruments, which helps patients return to their active lifestyles faster.
Minimally-invasive surgery leaves a smaller scar, and patients may experience less pain during recovery than they would with a standard surgical approach to total knee replacement. The Visionaire system also eliminates multiple steps from the surgery, reducing the patient's time under anesthesia.
Any surgery has potential risks, the physicians said, and recovery depends on factors like activity level, weight and age.
"Still," said Dr. Hutchison, "the new patient-customized technology is an important advance in knee replacement surgery. If you need the surgery, ask your doctor which implant is right for you."