Total Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery

Damaged joints, hip pain or knee pain do not have to keep you from doing the things you love. The orthopedic surgeons at Corona Regional Medical Center offer comprehensive and minimally invasive surgical procedures to reduce pain and improve mobility. We use advanced medical technology, including Mako® robotic-arm assisted surgery, to perform more precise surgeries and reduce recovery times.

Total Hip Replacement

Total hip replacement involves replacing diseased cartilage and bone of the hip joint with artificial materials. Patients who have progressively severe arthritis in the hip joint typically undergo total hip replacement.

The most common type of arthritis leading to total hip replacement is degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) of the hip joint. This type of arthritis generally occurs with aging, is a congenital abnormality of the patient's hip joint, or prior trauma to the hip joint. Fractures of the hip joint and death, or necrosis, of the hipbone, are also common causes for hip replacement surgery.

Progressively intense chronic pain combined with the impairment of daily function including walking, climbing stairs and even rising from a sitting position, are reasons many patients consider a total hip replacement. Because replaced hip joints can fail with time, the decision on whether and when to perform total hip replacement are not easy, particularly for younger patients. When pain becomes so severe that it impedes normal function despite the use of anti-inflammatory medications, replacement is generally considered.

Total Knee Replacement

Total knee replacement is generally done when a person has a severe degenerative joint disorder such as osteoarthritis, in which the articular, or moving, surfaces of the knee deteriorate and lead to severe pain, limitation or loss of function and/or deformity of the joint. The surgery may also be performed to replace a badly fractured knee or when previous joint replacements have failed. Bilateral replacement means that both knees are replaced at the same time.

Other treatments are usually used before knee replacement surgery. These include:

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or anti-inflammatory drugs if the joint has degenerated
• Cortisone or lubricant injections to the knees
• Osteotomy, which is restructuring of the bones to shift stresses from diseased tissue to more healthy tissue
• Synovectomy, a surgical removal of inflamed synovial tissue, the tissue that lubricates moving parts of a joint

Mako® Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery

Corona Regional Medical Center offers Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery. Mako-trained orthopedic surgeons use this innovative technology to perform various joint replacement procedures including hip replacements, partial knee replacements and total knee replacements.

Mako SmartRobotics™ provides relief for joint pain through the use of minimally invasive robotic surgery. The technology creates a personalized surgical plan based on your unique anatomy, which helps the surgeon improve accuracy during the procedure.

How Does Mako Work?

A CT scan is taken of the joint and loaded into the system. This is then used to create a 3D model of the joint and a surgical plan. During the procedure, the Mako system follows the plan and helps guide the surgeon, which helps improve the accuracy of the placement and alignment of the new implant.

Other Common Treatments for Knee and Hip Pain

• Occupational Therapy can teach you how to better care for yourself and help in your quest to return to productive living following surgery, injury or other conditions.
• Orthopedic Surgery provides treatment for patients who do not respond to nonsurgical treatments and anti-inflammatory medication. Surgical options can include total knee replacement, total hip replacement and shoulder surgery, including minimally invasive procedures.
• Physical Therapy can help reduce pain, weakness and stiffness, while helping you build strength and endurance with manual techniques, exercise and neuromuscular retraining.
• Physiatry and Pain Management specializes in assessment, diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of joint pain problems including muscle and nerve studies, as well as pain-relieving injections.
• Sports Medicine covers the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries caused by sports and exercise-related activities. The focus is to help patients make a full recovery so they are able to resume their sports activities.

Individual results may vary. There are risks associated with any surgical procedure. Talk with your doctor about these risks to find out if robotic surgery is right for you.