NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

REMINDER: OR-Live.com Presents: Computer Assisted Knee Replacement From Woodwinds Health Campus

Live Webcast: Tuesday, May 16, 2006, 3:00 P.M. CDT (20:00 UTC) from The Orthopaedic Specialty Center at Woodwinds Health Campus

The Orthopaedic Specialty Center at Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury, Minnesota will host a demonstration of the most state-of-the-art approach to total knee replacement during a live surgery on the Internet. The web cast will be live from Woodwinds Health Campus, a member of the HealthEast Care System, on May 16, at 3pm central time.

During a total knee replacement, plastic and metal parts are used to replace injured or damaged parts of the knee. Until now, a doctor had to rely on his or her experience to remove bone, replace it with implanted material and align the plastic or metal material with the bone. Since each patient's knee is different, this can prove to be challenging. Computer-assisted knee replacements offer better outcomes for patients and more accuracy for doctors.

"This technology allows the surgeon to customize the total knee replacement for each patient," said orthopaedic surgeon Daniel Hoeffel, MD. "This will improve accuracy and consistency. The patients will have better long term results."

During the live webcast being broadcast from Woodwinds Orthopaedic Learning Center, Dr. Hoeffel will be using the Ci® Navigation System by DePuy, a division of Johnson and Johnson, which gives doctors a whole new view of total knee replacement surgery. Using infrared, the system displays a 3D model of the patient's knee on a computer screen. The image of the knee allows the surgeon to clearly see inside the joint and more exactly align the bone and implanted material in the knee. Patient benefits include better outcomes after surgery and smaller surgical incisions.

Dr. Hoeffel will be joined by his partner Jack Drogt, MD, who'll provide commentary on this leading-edge approach to joint replacement.

"The objective of computer-assisted surgery is to combine the precision and accuracy of computer technology with the surgeon's skill and expertise," says Drogt, orthopaedic surgeon. "The goal is establishing anatomic alignment, which greatly increases the durability and longevity of the joint replacement. As a result, surgeons are able to align a patient's bones and joint implants with a degree of accuracy not possible with the naked eye."

Visit http://www.or-live.com/HealthEast/1447 now to learn more and view a program preview. VNR: http://www.or-live.com/rams/hee-1447-mkw-q.ram

Distributed by Market Wire