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orthopedic surgeons in the U.S. are trained in these
techniques, but all JRI surgeons are fellowship-trained in
minimally invasive surgery, and together they performmore
than 2,000 surgeries a year.
The procedure to smooth Jared’s hip and cover it in a new
ceramic head for smoother motionwas a success. Later that
day hewas up andwalking in his hospital room, and hewas
discharged the next day.
After twoweeks of in-home rehabilitation and beginning out-
of-home therapy, Jaredwas back at work two-and-a-half
weeks after the surgery and quickly regaining a full range of
motion for the first time in years.
Sevenmonths after his surgery, Jared competed in a sprint
triathlon— swimming, biking, and running—and finished
with his best time ever.
“I don’t wake upwith pain, I don’t go to bedwith pain, I
don’t livemy entire day in pain anymore. I play withmy kids,
chasing them, running circles around the house, bending
over to pick up their toys, pushing themon the swing,
kicking a soccer ball. I have no excuses anymore.” He laughs.
“I really did get my life back.”
“In total hip replacements, the future’s very bright,” says
Scott Schoifet, M.D., medical director of JRI and a leader in
joint replacement surgery. “There are newminimally invasive
techniques wherewe don’t cut themuscles and put the hip
in, called a direct anterior. And combining that with proper
patient education and rehabilitation, we’re going to be able
to get these patients out and home quickly.”
The future is also looking terrific in knee replacement surgery.
Virtua is one of only a fewhospitals in the nation that offers a
minimally invasive surgical technique known as quad-sparing
– so named because it avoids cutting the quadriceps tendon,
the largest tendon in the body, in order to operate on the
knee as traditional knee replacement surgery does. This
eliminates additional rehabilitation time for a cut tendon on
top of the knee replacement, allowing some patients to go
home the same day the procedure is performed, and greatly
reducing their recovery time.
Jared was able to participate in a sprint
triathlon just 7 months after his hip replacement.