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“This new custom fit approach enables surgeons to preserve more bone and ligaments, allowing for better implant fit and alignment,” Dr. Hoover said. “Patients are reporting a quicker and less painful recovery and greater ease in returning to normal activities such as golfing, biking and gardening.”
Dr. Hoover, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, earned his medical degree from The University of Tennessee at Memphis. He completed both his general surgery internship and his orthopedic surgery residency at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
The custom fit total knee replacement is achieved in a few steps, before and during surgery. Prior to surgery, an MRI is performed to take very precise measurements of the patient’s arthritic knee. Second, proprietary computer software creates a 3-D image of that knee and then virtually corrects the deformity to return the knee to its pre-arthritic state. Third, a computerized 3-D image of the implant to be used in the patient’s surgery is then shaped to the anatomically correct virtual knee model.
Finally, using all of this information, special cutting guides are created for the surgeon to use during the procedure. These patient-specific cutting guides, which are accurate to within a few millimeters, indicate to the surgeon exactly where to make bone cuts so that the knee replacement is customized for the individual patient.
Not all patients are candidates for the procedure and should be evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon.
For more information on this procedure, or a referral to a surgeon specializing in the procedure, please call 713-222-CARE (2273).
For more information, contact Media Relations.
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