Surgical Solutions
- Osteoarthritis affects 1 in 10 Canadians. In the hip, when this becomes disabling, total hip replacement is the only treatment.
- For those who have fallen and broken a hip, major surgery or total joint replacement is required.
- Currently in Canada approximately 20,000 total hip replacements are performed annually, and this number is projected to increase dramatically as our population ages. Although total hip replacement is considered one of the most successful operations of the 20th century, major complications still occur.
CHH Challenge:
Key challenges for hip fracture and osteoarthritis include surgical complications and the costs associated with current procedures.
CHH Solution:
At the CHH, refining minimally invasive hip surgery and replacement techniques and technology are important research goals. The combination of new implant designs and innovative surgical techniques for joint replacement can minimize complications and markedly reduce hospital length of stay and resource utilization a key factor in reducing wait times for patients.
Traditional Hip Surgery
Traditional surgery requires a long incision and disturbance of major muscle groups and ligaments. In the short term, major complications such as infection or even death continue to occur. In the longer term, severe bone loss occurring around the implant can cause failure and the requirement for a secondary more complicated hip replacement.
Minimally Invasive Surgery for the Hip
CHH surgeons are leading developers of minimally invasive techniques for total hip replacement. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques reduce the incision size by half, with a typical incision of 4-5 inches in contrast with the 7-10 inches required for conventional total hip replacement. MIS patients recover faster, spend less time in hospital, experience less pain and reduced muscle damage and generally have much better outcomes.
Design of New Implants
In addition to leading the way in surgical innovations. CHH investigators are also world authorities in the design and development of implants. Future hip implant designs include pharmaceutical modifications and the inclusion of ortho-biologics to accelerate fracture healing, reverse osteoporosis and further reduce the risk of infection, as well as the use of novel structural materials such as tantalum.
Bioengineering and Super Imaging
The development of new implant designs and innovative surgical techniques for joint replacement rely on sophisticated machines able to accurately assess and model the normal function of the complex structures of a joint. The modeling of living joints represents the starting point for the development of biomaterials and mechanical devices which can replace and work with living tissues in the recipient's body. Modeling of joints requires an in depth understanding of many different tissues - bone, ligaments, and tendons as well as muscles, nerves and vessels. In addition to surgical and bioengineering expertise, CHH super-imaging capabilities focused on bone and joint analysis are a key part of CHH Surgical Solutions research.