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Broadcast:
Minimally Invasive Rotating Platform Total Knee Replacement
BOSTON - On Thursday, May 20, 2004 Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) hosted a live Webcast in which participants viewed an emerging procedure designed to help improve the quality of life of many who suffer from severe knee arthritis and other knee damage that impairs mobility. During the Webcast, BWH doctors performed a minimally invasive rotating platform total knee replacement (TKR), a less invasive operative approach to traditional TKR surgery. Medical professionals from other hospitals and medical schools, those interested in CME credits and the general public, were invited to log-on to the Webcast on May 20 at 4:30 p.m. EDT by visiting www.brighamandwomens.org/surgerywebcast.
Total knee replacement is a surgical procedure in which the damaged areas of a patient's femur (thigh bone) and tibia (lower leg bone) are replaced with artificial parts. The mini-invasive TKR procedure leverages computer-aided surgical techniques that allows surgeons to improve short-term results without changing the long-term outcome of the procedure. The new technology and techniques help surgeons make smaller incisions that ultimately introduce fewer traumas to the knee resulting in reducing recuperation time by lessening post-operative pain, and promoting earlier mobilization and full range of knee motion. Many patients who are candidates for the mini-invasive TKR surgery have severe arthritis of the knee and experience a limited quality of life and impaired mobility due to pain, stiffness, instability and deformity of the knee. Typically, patients undergo TKR surgery after anti-inflammatory medications or knee joint injections have failed to provide relief.
Thomas S. Thornhill, MD, Chairman, Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital and John B. and Buckminster Brown Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, will be narrating the procedure. Wolfgang Fitz, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with BWH and an instructor with HMS performed the surgery at BWH.
According to Thornhill, "Total knee replacement is a serious operation that offers many patients an almost immediate improvement in their quality of life. In the past, TKR surgery involved significant incisions to the knee and caused trauma to the surrounding tissue, which resulted in long, painful recuperation periods. By broadcasting this procedure over the Web, we wanted to demonstrate not only the latest technique, but show how these techniques directly help patients shorten recuperation periods."
This event will launch the second year BWH has broadcast live surgery on the Internet. The May 20, 2004 event is the second in a series of four live Webcasts scheduled for 2004 and the sixth BWH has performed to date. For this procedure, two camera crews will staff the operating theater with complete access to the surgery. Viewers will be able to see 3D images of the procedure during the Webcast.
To learn more about this and previous Brigham and Women's Hospital Webcasts, visit www.brighamandwomens.org/surgerywebcast.
BWH is a 716-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery network. Internationally recognized as a leading academic health care institution, BWH is committed to excellence in patient care, medical research, and the training and education of health care professionals. The hospital's preeminence in all aspects of clinical care is coupled with its strength in medical research. A leading recipient of research grants from the National Institutes of Health, BWH conducts internationally acclaimed clinical, basic and epidemiological studies.
Participants
Featuring:
Wolfgang Fitz, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Thomas Thornhill, MD