Recent News Articles
Joint Replacement Surgeon Pioneers Hip Replacement
Last updated: 03/23/2006
Cabell Huntington Hospital's Joint Replacement Center is once again on the leading edge of joint surgery with the addition of computer-assisted hip replacement. Ali Oliashirazi, MD, is one of the first surgeons in the United States to perform total hip replacements using computer technology to achieve greater accuracy.
"Just as it does with the knee replacement surgery, the computer is a tool that helps guide us as we position the replacement components," Oliashirazi said. "The computer is not doing the surgery; it is yet another extremely valuable tool that we use." When doing hip replacement surgery, the physician and his team rely on how the patient is positioned on the operating table, how the patient is positioned in the operating room and the use of various jigs to align the components properly.
"During surgery, our challenge has always been that the patient's body will move. When the position of the patient's body is extremely crucial to correct alignment, accuracy of component positioning has a direct effect on the outcome of the surgery, including longevity," Oliashirazi said. He said the surgery team may not notice the shift in the patient's position because he or she is heavily draped during surgery; however, the computer knows what position the patient is in at all times. The system uses an interactive computer screen, a camera and beacons attached to the patient's body that map landmarks in the hip. The beacons send signals to the camera, and when there's movement, the camera and the computer pick up the information ? similar to global positioning technology.
In addition to detecting patient position, the computer program gives the surgeon a three-dimensional rendering of each step of the surgery, which assists in providing proper alignment of the implants. The technology, called the Ci System, provides surgeons with accurate, quantitative visual information that allows them to view the consequences of surgical decisions before they are made. "The key to the system is accuracy, and while using the computer adds time, it's worth it for a perfect knee or hip. We plan on using the computer on all of our hip replacement patients, just as we do our knee replacement patients now," Oliashirazi said. "We are always looking for ways to do things better," he added. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. In the fall, ours will be one of the first centers in the United States to begin using electromagnetic technology for joint replacement surgery."