News

October 22, 2020

Sebastian River Medical Center and Steward Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Use Groundbreaking Technology for Joint Replacement Surgery

ExacTech GPS Technology for Knee SurgerySebastian River Medical Center and Steward Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Use Groundbreaking Technology for Joint Replacement Surgery

(Sebastian, FL, October 27, 2020) – Orthopedic surgeons routinely use pre-operative, 3-dimensional CT scans, coupled with computer augmented surgical navigation and implant design, to facilitate the best possible implant and surgical techniques to meet patient needs. Here at Sebastian River Medical Center, our highly skilled orthopedic surgeons, Kirk Maes, MD, and Anthony Ware, MD of Steward Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, are performing joint replacement surgery utilizing the most advanced techniques available including 3-dimensional, computer-guided technology – ExacTech GPS® -  and customized instrumentation and implants – Conformis - getting patients back to living active and healthy lifestyles.

Dr. Maes has significant experience using the ExacTech GPS® 3-dimensional navigation system which offers patients the most advanced and sophisticated computer-guided surgical technique that is currently available.  The ExacTech GPS® provides real-time visual guidance and alignment data while performing total shoulder and total knee replacement surgeries.  This GPS system is like a navigation device in your car and provides a visual map of the patient’s joint anatomy. The data is displayed in real-time on a computer monitor in the operating room.  This GPS technology allows our surgeons to make immediate intra-operative three-dimensional adjustments during implant placement and facilitates the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques. This type of personalized surgical strategy offers an unprecedented level of personalized, intra-operative customization to address the patient’s specific anatomic needs.

“Accurate alignment and positioning of shoulder replacement and knee replacement implants are critical to improving a patient’s ultimate surgical outcome,” explains Dr. Maes.  “With this advanced technology, we are able to more precisely position joint replacement implants and ensure that our patients achieve the best possible improvement in their quality of life following joint replacement surgery.  This technology also provides superior pain relief and extended implant longevity following their joint replacement.”

Dr. Ware is an advocate of the Conformis knee replacement system.  The Conformis joint replacement offers custom made personalized knee replacement instrumentation and personalized custom knee replacement implants, both of which are designed to fit perfectly for each individual patient.  The implants and custom instrumentation are based on pre-operative CT scans.  This unique technology can offer patients the best possible implants to fit their specific needs. 

“The goal of knee replacement surgery is to restore the knee, as close as possible, to the natural alignment and original pre-arthritis anatomy,” states Dr. Ware. “Depending on the patient’s severity of arthritis, these personalized custom-designed implants offer a unique alternative to traditional joint replacement implants.”

Learn more about Steward Orthopedic and Sports Medicine.

 

About Sebastian River Medical Center

Sebastian River Medical Center (SRMC), a Steward Family Hospital, is a nationally recognized facility located along Florida’s Treasure Coast offering high-quality care close to home. SRMC is accredited by the Joint Commission, has a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence - as designated by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS), over 100 affiliated physicians, over 650 nursing and ancillary staff and over 100 volunteers. SRMC provides state-of-the-art technology, comprehensive emergency services, and award-winning surgical care. SRMC has expanded to meet the growing healthcare needs of our community with a new tower that opened in June 2020.  It offers 48 private patient rooms, offers a total of six operating rooms with the latest in technology and sanitizing system to ensure safety, a new entrance from Bay Street into a large lobby with a coffee shop and gift shot.  Services include medical/surgical inpatient, emergency care, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, urological surgery, gastrointestinal services, a cardiac catheterization program that includes implant devices, neurosurgery and spine surgery, as well as a full-service outpatient diagnostic center. Furthermore, SRMC’s emergency room is proud of its ability to screen patients upon arrival for respiratory-related illnesses and offer designated sections of the emergency treatment area for respiratory and non-respiratory patients.

Sebastian River Medical Center is located at 13695 US Highway 1, Sebastian, FL 32958. For more information, please call 772-589-3186 or visit www.sebastianrivermedical.org

ExacTech GPS Technology

Additional information on ExacTech GPS®.  

Conformis Technology

Additional information on Conformis.

 

About Steward Health Care

Steward Health Care is the largest private, for-profit health care network in the United States. The company is owned and led by a management team of Steward physicians.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Steward employs more than 37,000 health care professionals and operates 36 hospitals across the United States and in the country of Malta which regularly receives awards for quality and safety. The Steward network includes multiple urgent care centers and skilled nursing facilities, substantial behavioral health services, more than 7,000 beds under management, and approximately 2.2 million full risk covered lives through the company's managed care and health insurance services.

The Steward Health Care Network includes more than 5,000 physicians across 800 communities who help to provide more than 12 million patient encounters annually. Steward Medical Group, the company's employed physician group, provides more than six million patient encounters per year. The Steward Hospital Group operates hospitals in Malta and nine states across the U.S., including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. For more information, visit www.steward.org.