Healthcare hotline: Joint replacement surgery has taken leaps and bounds

SALT LAKE CITY — In the movie "Forrest Gump," Gary Sinise's character Lt. Dan came to Forrest's wedding standing on "new legs" made of the latest titanium alloy. Technology had given the fictional double-amputee the ability to walk again after losing his legs in a bomb attack.

While the film was about an imaginary set of characters, the notion that technological advances could aid those who lost their mobility was based on some reality.

Today, patients who need protheses, like Lt. Dan did, as well as those who need knee or hip replacements have much better options than those who sought medical help even a decade ago, thanks to drastic improvements in technology.

Questions about knee and hip replacement will be answered from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday during the monthly Deseret News/Intermountain Healthcare Hotline.

Orthopedic surgeons Dr. Brandon Ferney and Dr. Rhett Hallows with Intermountain Healthcare will answer calls.

From the Salt Lake area, call 801-236-6061. Elsewhere, the toll-free number is 1-800-925-8177.

"(Joint) implant design has improved," said Ferney, orthopedic surgeon at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray. "Materials, like the plastics that we use, are better."

He also said the use of longer-lasting materials such as ceramics and more durable metals has improved greatly over the 30 years since joint replacement surgery has become mainstream. Today, joint replacement surgery takes approximately two hours, he said, with more complicated procedures taking longer.

The use of computer imaging in surgery has added to the surgeon's ability to be more precise during the procedure, resulting in better outcomes. He also noted that recovery time has been greatly reduced over the years.

"Hospitalization (today) is usually between two and three days," Ferney said. "If you look back to when they started doing knee and hip replacements, people would stay in the hospital for weeks."

The reduced recovery time is a direct result of improved technology.

"We try to use smaller incisions and other less invasive techniques," he said. "Getting people up walking the day of surgery (is also key)."

Ferney said pain management has been enhanced as well, with patients receiving "multi-modal" pain techniques to reduce discomfort following surgery.