upon May 2.

upon May 2, Marvin Nyren was wheeled into an operating scope at Rush University Medical Center to gain his right knee replaced.

principally knee replacement surgeons keep their patients in the hospital for three to five days. on the contrary Dr. Richard Berger sent Nyren abiding-place the same day.

Berger said 98 percent of his knee replacement surgeries are outpatient. Many of his patients walk public with a cane, or calm under their own power.

MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY

Berger uses a fresh minimally invasive technique that he says springs in smaller scars, less time in the hospital and a faster and les painful recuperation Patients can drive in a week and go on back to work in 1 1/2 weeks.

While acknowledging like benefits, the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeon also warns of possible complications. Because smaller incisions restrict the view, there's a chance a surgeon could break a bone while installing the of recent origin knee. Minimally invasive surgery also can take longer increasing the risk of life-current clots and infections.

Because minimally invasive techniques are with equal reason new, it will take another 10 to 15 years before doctors know what import if any, the techniques will have onward "the long-term function and durability of the knee replacement," the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon said.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr David Manning of the University of Chicago cautions that minimally invasive techniques "should in no degree be done at the cost of long-term benefits. The succes of the measure can't be measured in the first three weeks."

A minority of surgeon do minimally invasive knee replacements, further more are learning the technique, Berger said. While there is no precise definition, minimally invasive surgery generally involves a shorter incision and les damage to tissue around the knee

Berger said the technique requires special equipment and training. To be advantageous at it, a surgeon should do at least 50 operations a year. Last year, Berger did 803 minimally invasive knee and hip replacements, sometimes five or six a day.

The standard knee replacement requires an incision 8 inches to 12 inches lengthy The incision Berger made in Nyren's knee was single 3 1/ 2 inches. Berger didn't divide [i]or[/i] sever through Nyren's quadriceps, the large muscle forward the front of the thigh. This "quad-sparing" technique makes rehab a great deal easier, Berger said.

Nyren's arthritic knee had almost no cartilage left after being damaged according to a college football injury and years of tennis.

'I COULD NOT BE MORE PLEASED'

After sitting at a restaurant table, Nyren's knee would achieve so stiff he could barely walk. Nyren would have to walk down grades backward. And on the golf course, he reluctantly separationed a cart because he could not walk more than a pit or two. Within a week of his surgery Nyren was walking around his Northbrook family circle without a cane. Within three weeks, he was walking up to half a mile and planning to respond to the golf course.

"Each day, it memorizes a little bit better," he said. "I could not be more pleased."

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