Video Interview posted with Dr. Kusuma from Columbus

[Pat Walter]

I was invited to Columbus to visit Dr. Kusuma from Grant Medical Center.  We had met in Arizona at the BHR meeting in April.  I did a video interview with him and it is posted here:

http://www.surfacehippy.info/shvideos/videosdoctor.php

and on his interview page here:

http://www.surfacehippy.info/doctorinterviews/kusumainterview.php

Dr. Kusuma trained at Johns Hopkins and in the UK with Mr. Treacy and others.  He assisted in several hundred BHRs.  He has done almost 100 BHRs in his practice in Columbus and has had excellent outcomes.  He designed a template system to help determine the center of the femur neck so the femur cap is centered on the femur neck and not on the femur ball as some surgeons had done in the past. Smith & Nephew have invited him to teach other surgeons his new method of templating the femur neck.  Taking the time to determine the center of the femur neck insures a good position for the femur cap.

Dr. Kusuma is very, very pro hip resurfacing.  It is nice to see some up and coming surgeons so interested in hip resurfacing and working on methods to make the surgery have an excellent outcome.

I was invited to watch a live BHR surgery.  I will write an article in a few days.  It was very interesting.  I watched many videos on the web and at the courses, but it was quite different to be there in the operating room.  I also had the opportunity to watch a knee resurfacing surgery with the Makoplasty computer aided system.  Only a few surgeons in Ohio are doing the knee resurfacing surgeries.  I found it fascinating to watch Dr. Kusuma map the knee joint with the computer and only remove the deteriorated section.  Much better solution that a total knee replacement where the bones are sawed off.


Here is a description of the knee resurfacing:
"The procedure, known as MAKOplasty® partial knee resurfacing, makes surgery a more palatable option for patients who have been reluctant to pursue traditional knee surgeries that often require months of recovery. It's a less invasive treatment option than total knee replacement and allows surgeons to treat knee osteoarthritis at earlier stages.

"It's a big advance," said Sharat K. Kusuma, MD, associate director of adult reconstruction at Grant Medical Center and Minimally Invasive Orthopedics. "A lot of patients with arthritis on one or two parts of the knee who normally would have received total knee replacements could be candidates for this new treatment."

MAKOplasty uses 3D computer mapping and an interactive robotic arm system to resurface the diseased portion of the knee and replace it with an artificial implant.

"The technology allows us to position the implant components much more accurately than conventional surgery and preserve more of the natural knee structure," said Grant orthopedic surgeon Robert E. Bartley III, MD. "The ability of the robot to help us prepare the bone surface and precisely place and align the implant enables patients to experience a more natural knee movement after surgery."

The implant restores only the damaged part of the knee, without disturbing healthy tissue. It creates a smaller incision, removes less bone, loses less blood and requires only moderate physical therapy.

The MAKO system can be used to treat osteoarthritis on two parts of the knee: the medial (inner) portion and the patellofemoral (front) portion, or both. "

Website about Makoplasty  http://www.ohiohealth.com/makoplasty?gclid=CITKoqjD5qsCFcZ-5Qodu03RIQ 

I hope you enjoy the video. Attaching a photo of Dr. Kusma and myself.

Pat

[Tin Soldier]

Pat - I agree, seeing new young surgeons interested in HR helps show that it's here to stay for awhile.  Also the idea of innovations within the HR world is something I think we don't hear much about, or maybe we worry that our hips will be obsolete in a few years, so we're nervous to hear about a new technology.  Maybe a new template isn't really that big of a deal.  Although, maybe much of the placement problems we attribute metallosis to, will decrease with better placement techniques, such as the template that Kusuma devised.  Very interesting.  Thanks