Surgery Surgery Surgery

Yo!

So for my BMEN 485 project I've been doing some research on prostheses, specifically hip and shoulder joint prostheses. Following up with Kristin's lead from last week, I contacted Dr. Goebel again and he had a few more surgeries for me to observe. This week I saw a total shoulder arthroplasty and a total hip arthroplasty.

The hip was kind of the same old same old. Dr. Goebel even mentioned to me that the hip prostheses themselves don't vary too much, other than material or, in some special cases, the shape. Nowadays, for a full hip replacement, the ball and cup are usually made from ceramic to reduce friction in the joint. Depending on how old the patient is (and a few other factors) will determine whether or not cement will be used to hold the prosthetic in place. Occasionally, the surgeon will employ the use of a shorter, slightly curved femoral stem, as opposed to a long straight one, to fit the patient better. The patients body type, weight, age and level of activity all play a role in this decision. This week's procedure used a relatively straight prosthetic, made of titanium with a porous finish, and a ceramic cup and socket. Dr. Goebel finished the procedure in less than 2 hours.

The shoulder arthroplasy had its pros and cons. They were using a reverse shoulder prosthetic, a relatively new development in prosthetic technology. This was awesome to see first hand. However, Dr. Goebel was unable to be there that day, so another surgeon was performing the procedure. This wasn't too big of an issue, but they weren't expecting Kathryn and I to be there. Because of this, they weren't exactly open to answering all of our questions and were kind of stand offish throughout the procedure, which is totally understandable. I mean, us being there was a surprise for them. It was still a good experience, but I didn't get as much out of it as I had hoped for. They used a reverse shoulder prosthetic which was really cool. It's a fairly new development in shoulder prostheses, so it was neat to be able to see it applied.

I'll be leaving for England tomorrow! I'm going to spend time with a friend who was a foreign exchange student at A&M two years ago. Should be a fun!

Until next time...