Once you and your orthopaedic surgeon have decided that total knee replacement is the best option for you, your first step in the TruMatch process will be a CT scan of your entire leg, from hip to ankle.
The results of this scan enable the TruMatch Solutions engineering team to create a three-dimensional model of your knee and how it works with your leg bones. They'll use this model to create guides for your surgeon, essentially personalizing not just the replacement piece itself, but the entire surgical process to fit your anatomy.
"These guides allow the surgeon and his team to position and align the implant with greater accuracy, which is crucial to how the knee will perform," says George Lester, RNFA MBA BSN CNOR, FHN Surgical Services. "That gives the knee better balance, which means it will wear more equally, and the joint will have a longer life."
TruMatch also helps FHN's surgeons operate more efficiently, eliminating some steps in the surgical process and offering the best possible outcome.
"There's less bone loss, less blood loss, and many of our knee replacement patients are able to go home in just 24 to 48 hours," George says.
As with any knee replacement, the real work begins once the surgery has ended. "Our joint replacement team will work to get you up and moving around soon after surgery, and rehab is one of the most important parts of knee replacement," George says. "Our physical therapists and occupational therapists really do the magic – they'll help you get back your strength and range of motion, and get you back to functioning on your own."
FHN is the first hospital in the area to offer TruMatch. "Like any knee replacement surgery, it's covered by insurance, and we've partnered with the manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, to be able to offer the TruMatch process at no additional cost to our patients," George says.
Before his knee replacement surgery, Jim Kerr couldn't mow the lawn, climb a ladder, or participate in some of his favorite campground activities. TruMatch from FHN changed all that...and now he is doing things he hadn't done in quite some time.
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