Think you should be making the decision about the best knee replacement implants? Think again!
Potential knee replacement patients are being bombarded with tons of marketing messages regarding the desirability of various implants. The biggest problem with targeting a group with marketing messages is that it gives that group the impression that they should be able to make a decision regarding the value of the product.
What is the effect of marketing cereal to younger children? They naturally believe because the messages are targeted toward them that they should be able to make the decision about the brand of cereal Mom buys. In reality, they have no real knowledge upon which to base that decision. Such is the pernicious effect of targeting groups of uninformed people with marketing messages.
In using the term uninformed, I mean no disrespect to potential patients. In fact they could be very well read on the pros and cons according to the available material at hand. But we all know that marketing information may or may not be valid and that FDA clearance is no absolute surety of safety, just ask the people that were harmed as a result of using one of the many medical products and drugs recalled in the last 10 years. You’ve seen all those lawyer ads.
The purpose of this post is to permanently disabuse you of the notion that you can decide which implant type you want your surgeon to use. The means to accomplish this is twofold. I am embedding a video which shows two surgeons using two different types of knee replacement implants; the rotating hinge and the MRI-assisted.
It is a bit dated but valuable none the less to hear the discussion about rationale going on among surgeons for various things they do or do not do.
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Because the video is 1 hour and 20 minutes long, and because I understand that watching a knee replacement surgery live on video is just not what some potential patients should be doing prior to the undergoing the operation-I’ve provided the transcript of the video for you to download and read instead.
[file_download style=”4″][download title=”Knee Replacement Surgery-Two Techniques” icon=”style1-Pdf-64×64.png” file=”http://totalknee.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Two-Techniques-for-Total-Knee-Replacement.pdf” package=”” level=”” new_window=””]Two surgeons demonstrate different techniques for knee replacement surgery and field questions on topics of interest for those considering a knee replacement in the future[/download][/file_download]
The questions that they answer during the surgery are wide ranging and valuable. I have bolded and highlighted those questions so that you can get good information quickly. Consider it my gift to you in the new year.
Remember when all is said and done… The bottom line is… find a surgeon who is highly skilled at his craft, who you trust and let him make the decisions about the implant type.
