No two knees are alike, and just like clothing or shoes, fit is important. You wouldn’t buy one-size-fits-all sneakers. Why would you chose a one-size-fits-all knee?
While most knee replacements are placed in an “average” position, with fixed positions and angles that are identical for all patients (regardless of their individual anatomy), at Orthopaedic Specialty Clinic, Dr. Scott custom aligns knee implants to match each patient’s individual anatomy. These precise, custom alignments help to improve function of the knee replacement and increase patient’s overall satisfaction.
“This custom alignment process is where the future of knee replacements is going. Average alignments are the old school method which I believe will be phased out completely over time,” says Dr. Scott. “The research is already out there with more being done to prove the effectiveness of custom alignments everyday, and we’re really happy to be leading this work.”
Here’s a great anecdote that explains why one size really fits none: The cockpits of Air Force planes were designed using the law of averages. This means the cockpit would be a perfect fit for an exactly average pilot. The problem is, there were no exactly average pilots. So the cockpits really didn’t fit anyone. All this discomfort and misalignment of controls increased the rate of fatal crashes. Then they figured out, they needed to make things a little adjustable. Once pilots could customize their fit a bit, fatal crashes were diminished.
Using precise custom knee replacements is just one of many ways Dr. Scott strives to give his patients the best possible care. Did you know Dr. Scott has worked extensively in the area of knee replacement design and conducts research in the field? Through the special attention Dr. Scott gives to using the advanced materials and technologies available, patients can be certain they are getting the very best care when choosing OSC.
In addition to conducting research, Dr. Scott also travels around the world to present this research to other doctors and members of the orthopaedic community.
He recently presented at the Medacta International 1st M.O.R.E. Americas Symposium in Montreal. The 1st M.O.R.E. Americas Symposium is organized via the M.O.R.E. (Medacta Orthopaedic Research and Education) Institute, which “focuses on surgeon-to-surgeon mentorship and hands-on support for surgeons transitioning to new techniques.”
You can learn more about the meeting here, and view Dr. Scott’s lecture on knee alignment here, and you can view a second talk on cement fixation here.
He also presented in Switzerland in 2016 for the M.O.R.E International Symposium, with a discussion on comparing two different knee implant designs. You can watch that video here.
Stay tuned. We will be doing more in depth updates on Dr. Scott’s innovative research and why it makes OSC the #1 clinic in the Inland Northwest for hip and knee replacements.
