Edgewood, KY – An innovative surgical table, now available at St. Elizabeth Edgewood, is changing the way patients experience hip surgery. The new surgical table, Pivot Guardian Distraction System, is designed to minimize complications patients frequently experience after hip arthroscopy and improve the surgeon’s ability to access an injured hip.
Dr. Matthew Grunkemeyer, an orthopaedic surgeon with OrthoCincy Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine who practices at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, was a champion of acquiring the new table. He says, “This table will improve patient safety and the patient experience. It resembles an exercise machine to hold and position the patient to assist surgeons during hip arthroscopy. The patient’s feet are locked into position with boots which allow us to better position the hip during surgery.”
What this table is missing, makes all the difference. Most tables used in hip surgery have a post positioned between the patient’s legs, in the groin area. In the past, the post provided the force necessary to position the hip properly. The post can cause complications such as skin tears, nerve damage or total groin numbness that can sometimes last for several weeks or longer for patients. Instead, the new table uses the patient’s weight and the stabilizing boots to properly position the patient.
Dr. Grunkemeyer explains further, “Advancements in hip surgery are allowing us to preserve a patients native hip longer. As technology advances, patients expect a solution that gets them back on their feet quickly. This table will help us minimize the risk of complications and allows the surgeons to get a better view of the hip to make the necessary repairs.”
Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure which allows a surgeon to diagnose and treat a wide-range of hip problems. Specially-designed tools are inserted through two small cuts during the procedure, rather than a large incision. Hip arthroscopy is used to treat hip impingement, labral tears, bursitis, and tendon repairs; or remove loose cartilage from a fall or injury.
Advancements in technology for hip issues are leading more people to seek relief with hip arthroscopy. By 2021 hip arthroscopies are expected to increase by 18.5 percent. Dr. Grunkemeyer says, “In the past, patients may have just suffered with hip pain until the hip degenerated so much they needed a hip replacement. With today’s technology, we help preserve their hip longer with a minimally invasive surgery that has a much quicker recovery.”
The Pivot Guardian Distraction System and the Radlink GPS, used during hip replacement surgeries, are just a few of the technologies which position St. Elizabeth as the regional leader for hip surgeries in Northern Kentucky. To learn more about the advanced hip surgery available at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, visit stelizabeth.com/hip.