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Dr. Brad Wright works with Dr. Keith Nord, Dr. David Yakin, Dr. John Masterson, Dr. Stephen Houseworth and Dr. Timothy Sweo at Sports Orthopedics and Spine, 569 Skyline Drive.

Dr. Wright, who has developed a special interest in hip surgery, teaches physicians about using arthroscopy with hip procedures at a course hosted by the Arthroscopy Association of North America in Chicago.

Also certified in sports medicine, Dr. Wright is the team physician for the University of Tennessee at Martin, as well as one of the team physicians for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx and the Mississippi River Kings Ice Hockey Team. In Fall 2008, he was the team physician for USA Boxing at the Junior World Youth Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico.


Other stories with our doctors

Dr. Brad Wright examines the knee of Roderick Whitacker before he has knee surgery.

New joint procedures improve recovery

Joint injuries caused by playing sports or by trauma don’t have to result in a life of pain or diminished mobility. New orthopedic proce- dures are shortening recovery times, sending athletes back to their sport, allowing patients to resume daily activities and even decreasing the likelihood of recurring joint problems later in life.

“We like to say that you don’t have to live with joint pain, regardless of your age,” says Dr. Brad Wright, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Sports Orthopedics and Spine. Dr. Wright and his colleagues at the clinic are doing several new and unique procedures that help return the joint to normal activity.

“The focus on a lot of these procedures is the younger, more active person,” Dr. Wright explains. “We’re trying to maintain that level of activity, whether it be sports, work or daily living, and at the same time reduce the risk of arthritis problems later in life to a point where it would impact the individual less severely.”

Dr. Wright discussed four new procedures…

Meniscal Transplantation
The meniscus, the lunar-shaped protective cartilage in your knee, is an important shock absorber. Complete loss of the meniscus is “a death knell for the knee,” says Dr. Wright. A younger person will almost certainly get significant arthritis within 20 years.

Surgeons can now implant a cadaver meniscus into the knee to replace what is missing. There is no rejection of the tissue, explained Dr. Wright, because cartilage is isolated from the blood and the tissue is processed to remove cells that would incite rejection. A successful transplant gives the person’s knee a longer life and helps to avoid or delay knee replacement surgery later, he added.

ACI (Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation)
Athletes and other healthy patients under age 35 can sometimes replace damaged cartilage in their knee with a cartilage transplant. The cartilage used in the transplant is harvested from their own knee.

“We harvest a small amount of cells, usually in the top of the knee above where the kneecap moves with the femur,” says Dr. Wright. “We send the cells to a lab in Boston where they’re grown for later implantation into the defect. It’s frequently the best option for a young person with an area of full thickness loss of cartilage in the knee.”

The harvesting of the cells is done arthroscopicly with a small incision; the surgery later to repair the cartilage is done with a larger incision. The surgeon creates a patch of tissue to cover the damaged cartilage area and then injects the cultured cartilage cells underneath the patch, to hold the new cartilage in place.

ACL Double Bundle Reconstruction
Damage to the ACL (the anterior cruciate ligament), one of the four major ligaments that connect the bones of the knee joint, is a common problem, particularly with athletes. The ACL has two primary bundles of fiber. Surgery to repair ACL damage has become a common procedure, says Dr. Wright. A new procedure, called a double bundle reconstruction, improves on past procedures in that it tries to re-create both components of the ACL.

“We have been extremely pleased with the results,” says Dr. Wright. The double bundle procedure gives the patient better range of motion, strength and stability, he adds. “In our experience, it allows the athlete a quicker return to his or her sport.”

Hip Arthroscopy
The arthroscope, which allows the orthopedic surgeon to use small incisions and a tiny camera when doing a procedure, has been used on shoulders, knees, elbows, ankles and wrists for many years. It is now being used also for hip problems. “The hip joint is different than the others,” says Dr. Wright. “It’s deeper and it has not been as well understood arthroscopicly.”

He is now using the arthroscope to repair certain hip problems, such as chronic bursitis, impingement, spurs, tears of the labrum, snapping tendons and removal of damaged cartilage. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis, he says. “The patient gets better faster and gets back to normal activities quicker.”

And that’s the bottom line to many of the improved procedures being done by orthopedic surgeons these days, Dr. Wright added. “The goal is to return the individual to his or her sport or daily activities as soon as possible.”