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April 21, 2000
MINI-INCISION APPROACH TO TOTAL HIP ARTHOPLASTY
NOW BEING USED AT MEDICAL CENTER
More and more patients who are undergoing hip replacements at Hackensack University Medical Center are receiving a "mini-incision" surgical approach. The new technique has been developed over the last several years by Mark Hartzband, M.D. of Franklin Lakes, director of Total Joint Replacement Services in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center. Those who've had the surgery are having consistently good results.
"The advantages of this approach are numerous," said Dr. Hartzband. "Patients experience decreased bleeding, a decreased operation time, and a shorter hospital stay."
Traditional hip replacements require a 10-to-12-inch incision, while the mini-incision approach only requires a three-to-four-inch opening. New instruments have been developed by Dr. Hartzband that make working with this smaller incision possible.
"Over 400 patients have undergone this mini-approach," said Dr. Hartzband. "While the procedure works best in non-obese patients, there have been some patients of 300 pounds or more that have undergone a hip replacement using this approach."
The Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center offers a host of options for those who face joint replacements. Dr. Hartzband recently returned from Vail, Colorado where he presented a lecture on the mini-approach at the 14th Annual Orthopedic Symposium.
Dr. Hartzband performed more than 700 hip and knee replacements in 1999 - more than any other surgeon in New Jersey. He has been with the medical center since 1985, serving as its coordinator of resident education in the Orthopedic Surgical Department until 1990. He received his Bachelor of Science and his medical degree from McGill University and completed both his surgical internship and his orthopedic surgical residency at Montefiore Medical Center/ Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
Dr. Hartzband is also part of a national FDA study to test an alternative hip replacement procedure in younger patients. He is also part of an internal study testing the new Legacy Hi-Flex knee replacement. This total knee replacement can give patients a range of motion of 160 degrees.
Hackensack University Medical Center, a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School and a member of the University Health System of New Jersey, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state of New Jersey. State designated as a New Jersey Children's Hospital, the medical center has been honored since 1995 as the first hospital in New Jersey to receive the Magnet Award for nursing excellence from The American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the second hospital in the nation to receive a four-year redesignation of this award. The medical center is also the recipient of the Consumer Choice Award in Bergen and Passaic counties for four consecutive years. Based on a survey of 400,000 people to determine the best hospitals in the country, the medical center was named as the hospital of choice for quality of staff, community programs, personalized care, and overall reputation.
Hackensack University Medical Center
30 Prospect Avenue · Hackensack, New Jersey, 07601 · (201) 996-2000