Joint care

Our orthopedic specialists will typically try to resolve your joint pain with noninvasive treatments before suggesting surgery.

Some of our nonsurgical treatments for joint conditions include:

• Joint injections — When you receive a joint injection, the doctor uses a thin needle to inject medication directly into the site causing pain.
• Medication management — Our doctors can prescribe different pain and anti-inflammatory medications to manage your symptoms.
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation — Physical therapy and rehabilitation involves medically supervised exercise. These exercises are designed to strengthen targeted muscles that may be contributing to your pain by putting extra strain on joints.

If nonsurgical treatments have proven to be ineffective and your joints have become extremely worn, your doctor may recommend joint replacement surgery.

Joint replacement surgery replaces the damaged or diseased parts of a joint with implants (prostheses), creating a healthy, like-new joint. There are three main approaches to joint replacement surgery we offer, which are:

• Partial joint replacement— During a partial joint replacement, the joint ball (hip) or hinge joint (knee) is replaced with a prosthetic, an artificial piece made from metal, ceramic and/or plastic.
• Total joint replacement— During a total joint replacement, both the ball and socket joint or the hinged joint are replaced with prosthetic pieces.
• Revision joint replacement surgery—In some cases, additional surgery may be required to replace a worn-out joint replacement.

Our joint replacement surgeons offer partial and total hip replacements to treat hip pain. When possible, we use the minimally invasive anterior approach. With this approach, our surgeons create an incision on the front of the hip instead of the back of the hip. This allows them to more easily access the hip joint and spare more healthy tissue.

Common reasons for a hip replacement include severe instances of:

• Hip injuries
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteonecrosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis

When knee pain becomes chronic, our joint specialists may recommend a total or partial knee replacement. During your procedure, your surgeon will replace all or part of the damaged knee joint with an artificial joint.

Common reasons for a knee replacement include:

• Prolonged knee pain due to arthritis or knee injury
• Severe injury and decrease mobility
• To correct a knee deformity

Shoulder replacement surgery treats the ball and socket joint of the shoulder. It is designed to relieve pain, improve strength and increase the shoulder’s range of motion. Common reasons for shoulder replacement include:

• Extreme shoulder pain
• Fractures
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Rotator cuff injuries

Our joint care team is trained to perform advanced shoulder replacement surgeries including:

• Total shoulder replacement — In total shoulder replacement surgery the entire ball and socket joint is replaced with a prosthetic.
• Reverse total shoulder replacement — This type of procedure replaces the entire joint but reverses the position of the ball and socket in the shoulder. Surgeons perform this surgery for a severe rotator cuff injury.
• Partial shoulder replacement — In partial shoulder replacement procedure, surgeons replace only the injured component.

When possible, our surgeons used advanced robot-assisted surgery to replace your damaged joint. Surgeons utilize a computer terminal, where their hand movements simulate the robotic tools' movements. This allows the surgeon to more easily operate during the procedure. With robotic assistance, the surgeon is able to make very precise cuts to the bone around the joint and optimize implant placement.

This offers many benefits to patients, including a shorter hospital stay, quicker recovery and less scarring. It also often results in a more effective procedure than traditional surgical methods.

Our highly trained orthopedic doctors are dedicated to helping you recover from a joint condition. To do this, they specialize in a variety of advanced procedures to ensure any joint problem can be met with a solution.

Should they need to collaborate with additional specialists, they have access to some of the best minds throughout Florida as part of HCA Florida Healthcare. This collaboration allows us to get you the care you deserve.