TMF opens joint replacement center
Patient "group" approach offers faster healing, recovery

Tyler, TX - According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, in 2004, over 600,000 Americans had knee or hip replacement surgery. Until recently in east Texas, any patient undergoing a knee or hip joint replacement dealt with the prospect on an individual basis. Selfmotivation was the driving force for the sometimes lengthy and uncomfortable recovery.

Now, the newly opened Trinity Mother Frances Joint Replacement Center at Mother Frances Hospital is offering patients a new option: team up with other patients and go through the process together, while supporting each other along the way.

Patients go through the recovery process as a group, eating, exercising and enjoying activities together and providing encouragement and enthusiastic support to one another. Studies show that patients who recover as a team reach their goals faster and with fewer complications.

During the recovery process, most patients will have a close friend or family member act as their "coach." The coach plays a very important role in helping the patient reach his or her goals. Officials with the Joint Replacement Center consider patient education, group support, involvement of family and friends and positive reinforcement to be the most important factors in the patient's recovery.

Trinity Clinic orthopaedic surgeons say this model works better than the traditional model because everyone starts and finishes their journey together.

"I think that the Joint Replacement Center is going to allow us to jump forward in joint replacement in east Texas mainly because of the positive impact of congregating all of our joint replacement patients together," said Roger McCown, II, DO, a Trinity Clinic orthopaedic surgeon. "It's a team effort with the staff and patients working together. Everybody at the Joint Replacement Center is dedicated to getting patients up and moving after a joint replacement surgery and this team effort can really speed the recovery process for the patient."

The concept of taking joint replacement patients through their journey as group has been tried successfully at other health care facilities in the United States. Officials with Trinity Mother Frances Health System wanted to bring this success to their orthopaedic patients.

"The Trinity Mother Frances Joint Replacement Center offers a unique care experience for total knee and total hip replacement patients, " said Rhonda Clausen, vice president, Trinity Mother Frances Health System. "The comprehensive program crossing the continuum of care experience, focuses on education and preparation prior to surgery. It is followed by a multidisciplinary team model to inpatient care, and post-acute physical medicine and rehabilitation. The continuum is designed to promote rapid and successful recovery. This specialized program offers a healing environment that emphasizes wellness and quality of life through a collaborative and mutually supportive experience."

"Our comprehensive preoperative education class helps prepare patients for their surgery, post-surgery days in the hospital, and ongoing therapy and recovery after discharge," said Crystal Florey, RN, coordinator, Trinity Mother Frances Joint Replacement Center. "In order to participate in the program, patients are asked to join in this educational process, as research has shown improved outcomes and greater patient comfort and satisfaction as a result."

Each patient is provided an educational video that follows Joint Replacement Center patient Ray Elmore's trek through the program. The Big Sandy native was a member of the first group of patients to complete the program in June. He had a total joint replacement in his left knee.

"To get together as a group and do the exercises and talk and share our experiences with each other was a tremendous help," said Elmore. "I probably should have done it earlier. I'm glad that I went ahead and had it done."

"It's always a little bit interesting that you have all these people in the hospital going through joint replacement at the same time and there's never been any interaction (between patients), and we do know that when you get these people to interact and put them in a group environment they actually do better. They have people to coach them along," said William F. Phillips, III, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon with Trinity Clinic. "It gives them a support group and patients overall are very happy with it."

"It's also helpful that they have a preoperative-education component to this where we try to give the patients an idea of what to expect before they ever get to the hospital, so they are prepared. They know how long they're going to be in the hospital, what we're going to use for pain management, what kind of therapy and when they're going to be expected to do their physical therapy. And all those things help them to understand what they're going through," added William R. Hobbs, MD, Trinity Clinic, Orthopaedic Surgery. "It makes this an easier process and the support system helps them to get through the process and have others to share the experience."

Officials with the Joint Replacement Center said the average hospital stay for joint replacement is about three or four days after having a hip or knee replacement. Most patients are able to go home after their hospital stay but the recovery period varies from person to person. Patients may need to use a walker for about four weeks after the surgery. Most patients are able to drive a car after two to four weeks and return to activities such as golf and tennis around twelve weeks.

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of joint pain. Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of cartilage of one or more joints. This causes the bones to grind against one another causing pain, inflammation and restricted movement.

An orthopaedic surgeon can evaluate your condition and discuss the different treatment options with you. If, after trying other treatment options, the pain you are experiencing is severely restricting your ability to walk or perform simple activities, you may want to consider joint replacement.

The Trinity Mother Frances Joint Replacement Center, located on the sixth floor of the Ornelas Tower at Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler at 800 E. Dawson, is part of the Center for Advanced Surgery and Technology. The Joint Replacement Center is the exclusive provider in east Texas of the state-of-the-art surgical navigation system from Stryker. The system acts as a global positioning system to better align knee and hip implants.

Image guided navigation technology for orthopaedic surgery is designed to allow a surgeon to align an artificial joint with greater precision within the body. Precise alignment is an important factor that may reduce joint wear and extend the life of the implant. Use of the system has many potential benefits including improved joint stability and range of motion.

Orthopaedic navigation technology is similar to directional tracking systems used in cars and ships - it is, in effect, a global positioning system (GPS) for the surgeon. Infrared sensors placed in the operating room act like satellites constantly monitoring the location of markers and instruments placed along a patient's anatomy.

As the surgeon moves an instrument within a patient's joint, the infrared sensors calculate its position and smart wireless instruments instantaneously transfer the data to a computer in the operating room. This information is then displayed as an interactive model of the anatomy or "blueprint" that supplies the surgeon with the optimum angles, lines and measurements needed to align the implant within the patient.

For more information on the Trinity Mother Frances Joint Replacement Center and other services available through Trinity Mother Frances Health System, visit www.tmfhs.org. To speak to a representative or schedule an appointment with a Trinity Clinic orthopaedic surgeon, call TeleCARE Plus at 903- 531-5678. Trinity Mother Frances Health System includes Mother Frances Hospital Tyler, Mother Frances Hospital-Jacksonville and Trinity Clinic, the area's preferred medical specialty group serving east and northeast Texas, including over 200 physicians and clinicians and 35 medical specialties.