CHICAGO, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- BrainLAB today announced the introduction of a new technology to Rush University Medical Center which helps avoid damage to muscles and ligaments in total knee replacement and reduces the size of the incision by 50 percent. The patient benefits by regaining the ability to walk and bend the leg as early as the first day after the operation. The new operating technique combines Image-Guided Surgery (IGS) with the VectorVision navigation system from BrainLAB, a worldwide leading innovator of Image-Guided Surgery, and a new knee implant from Zimmer, one of the world’s largest implant manufacturers. Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush and Director of the Joint Replacement Program, is one of the first surgeons in the United States to perform this new surgical procedure with navigation.
The implantation of an artificial knee joint is a common surgical procedure to treat degenerative diseases of the knee, which are most often the result of age and the associated wear and tear on the knee. About 70 percent of people aged 65 or older show signs of arthritis. In many cases an artificial knee joint is the only option that will rid the patient of his/her pain for the long term. In the U.S. over 300,000 knee prostheses are implanted annually.
New procedure reduces trauma to patients
During conventional total knee replacement procedures the knee joint is surgically exposed with a 20 to 30 cm incision. To gain access to the knee joint, muscles and ligaments need to be partially severed. To avoid this kind of damage and to keep trauma to the patient minimal, Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is now using a new operating technique, which combines image-guided surgery technology from BrainLAB with a new implant manufactured by Zimmer (Warsaw, USA). With this new approach the incision is now less than 10 cm long and is placed in such a way as to minimize harm to muscles and ligaments. To place the prosthesis correctly, Prof. Sheinkop uses exact, patient-specific information calculated by the VectorVision navigation system.
“Without navigation it would be quite challenging to accurately place an implant through a significantly smaller incision because we only have a limited view of the operating field,” said Prof. Sheinkop. “The BrainLAB navigation system provides us with additional visual information which is essential for the correct placement of the prosthesis.”
Prof. Sheinkop has been using the VectorVision navigation system at Rush Oak Park Hospital in total knee replacement for one year. “In order to achieve optimal results, VectorVision supports us during each relevant step of the procedure. It provides us with 3D information about the individual patient anatomy in real time,” explained the surgeon. “Based on this information, we are able to position the prosthesis with the highest degree of precision and are able to verify the results during surgery.”
Patients benefit the most
The patient receives a perfectly implanted knee prosthesis and on the first day after surgery is able to bend the knee and put weight on it. The patient is able to resume his/her daily activities much more quickly than after conventional surgery. Crutches are only needed following the first few days of surgery and not, as is the case after conventional knee replacement procedures, for a full six weeks. “We perform several hundred knee prostheses per year and are very happy to now be able to offer those patients even better care,” said Dr. Sheinkop. Over the next weeks, Dr. Sheinkop will add navigated hip replacement to his small incision surgery.
About BrainLAB
BrainLAB, a privately held company headquartered in Munich, Germany, was founded in 1989 and is specialized in the development, manufacture, and marketing of medical technology for radiosurgery / radiotherapy, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and ENT. Among the products developed by BrainLAB are software and hardware components for image-guided surgery and radiotherapy as well as integrated systems for stereotactic radiosurgery. With about 3000 software applications on almost 1400 systems installed in over 60 countries, BrainLAB is among the market leaders in image-guided medical technology. BrainLAB today employs more than 580 people worldwide and has 15 offices across Europe, Asia, North and South America.
For more information, visit BrainLAB at http://www.brainlab.com/ .
BrainLAB
CONTACT: Victoria Badgley of High Road Communications, +1-416-368-8348ext. 246, vbadgley@highroad.com , or Gabriella Cyranski, MarketingCommunications Manager of BrainLAB Inc., +1-708-486-0114,cyranski@brainlab.com
Web site: http://www.brainlab.com/