Kenneth B. Hawthorne
Options for people considering knee replacement surgery keep getting better and better. Thanks to a recent convergence of improved technology and surgical technique, it is now quite possible to have your knee replacement surgery as an outpatient. As amazing as it may seem, some knee replacement candidates can have their surgery performed in the morning and still make it home in time for dinner that very same afternoon.
Dr. Kenneth Hawthorne of Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach states that "if the patient's conditions meet the proper criteria, the yes, we can do their knee replacement surgery in an out-patient setting". The procedure, however, is not the traditional total knee replacement. It is a partial knee replacement commonly referred to in the industry as a uni-compartmental. Instead of replacing both sides of the knee and removing the anterior cruciate ligament as is done in total knee replacement, a uni-compartmental replaces only one side of the knee and retains the anterior cruciate ligament.
"It's not a new procedure" states Dr. Hawthorne. "Partial knee replacements have been around for quite a long time, but fell out of favor some time ago because they were difficult to perform accurately and had too high of a failure rate. Now, with all of the improvements, it has re-emerged as a very attractive option to a certain segment of people experiencing knee pain".
If anyone in the area should know about knee replacement options, it would be Dr. Hawthorne. He was the first surgeon in the area to adopt minimally invasive total knee replacement and has performed over 300 of the procedures in the past two years. "Minimally invasive surgery led to huge improvements in the rehabilitation and recovery rates of my total knee patients. Now that we are applying the same technique to uni-compartmental knees, I'm able to offer some of my patients an even faster recovery than what my minimally invasive knee replacement patients experience".
And although the out-patient uni is a very attractive option for some, Dr. Hawthorne cautions that "they aren't for everyone however, because most people's arthritis has progressed to both sides of the knee which would then require a minimally invasive total knee replacement as opposed to a uni." He goes on to state that "for the majority of my knee-pain patients, a minimally invasive total knee replacement is a fantastic and they are doing better that ever before, but for other individuals with arthritis confined to only one side of the knee, the uni represents an excellent option."