When it comes to joint replacements, there is a lot of excitement right now.  A new knee replacement design is currently available through Carolina Orthopaedics.  One of the first in the area to use this device is Caldwell Memorial Hospital’s Chief of Surgery, Dr. James Stanislaw M.D., FAAOS.  Men and women have differently shaped bodies and it should come as no surprise that the knee shape is different between them.  Until recently, the designs have been based more on the male anatomy than the female anatomy.  “Those of us that have been performing joint replacements for some time have noticed this difference, and encouraged the development of a knee replacement that more closely mimics the shape of a woman’s knee for our female patients,” according to Dr. Stanislaw who has been performing joint replacements at Caldwell Memorial Hospital for more than ten years. 

The traditional design still works extremely well for male patients and many female patients because the earlier design is an averaging of the overall shape of many knees and comes in multiple sizes.  The precise sizes are still chosen for each patient during the operation in either case.  “It is ironic that the past designs are based more heavily on the male shape, yet females receive a greater number of the total knee replacements.  Now the surgeon has the option of which shape best matches a patient’s knee,” according to Dr. Stanislaw.

Dr. Stanislaw is past president of Carolina Orthopaedic Specialists, PA, and is the Chief of the Department of Surgery at Caldwell Memorial Hospital.  He trained at Case Western Reserve/Univ. Hospitals of Cleveland, and Yale University School of Medicine.