One of the main reasons patients opt to forgo hip replacement surgery is the pain associated with recovery. But now Vanderbilt University Medical Center offers a revolutionary minimally-invasive procedure that is changing patients' perceptions, and offering a much faster recovery.

On Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005 at 7pm EST (00:00 UTC / 8:00 am China 23.3.05),witness Adolph Lombardi, Jr., MD, FACS, perform a total knee replacement using the new Vanguard™ Complete Knee System with innovative Premier™ instrumentation from Biomet Orthopedics, Inc

Beginning with the AGC®, and continuing with the Maxim® and Ascent™, Biomet's total knee systems have a rich clinical heritage. With the introduction of the Vanguard™ Complete Knee System, Biomet has taken this proven clinical heritage and combined it with state-of-the-art design features to produce the most comprehensive total knee system available today.

Fabien D. Bitan, MD will perform a New Procedure for the Treatment of Degenerative Disc Disease called Total Disc Replacement with SB Charite Artificial Disc on January 26, 2005. Americans work hard and play hard, and as a result, more than 75 percent of Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Young people push their bodies at the gym and on the fields and baby boomers are opting to continue being active as they get older. As a result of this trend and emerging medical technology, joint replacement surgeries of the knee and hip have become commonplace, yet many people live with and tolerate back pain. These back pain sufferers now have a revolutionary new treatment option. An emerging type of spinal surgery, called total disc replacement, has shown great promise in clinical trials and has recently gained full FDA approval for a prosthetic disc used in the procedure. Total disc replacement, used for treatment of degenerative disc disease, involves removing the deteriorated disc from between the vertebrae and implanting an artificial disc made of metal and plastic. The SB Charite Artificial Disc was one of the most popular artificial discs among European spinal surgeons, who have been using several of these prosthetic discs on their patients since the 1980s, resulting in pain relief and restored mobility for thousands of patients.

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Spinal surgery: Medical professionals and consumers worldwide may watch as expert spinal surgeon Vivek P. Kushwaha, M.D., demonstrates an innovative, effective surgical procedure to treat severe, chronic back pain during a live, global webcast at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time (23:30 UTC) on Monday,Dec. 13. The surgery, which will be performed at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, is a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), an effective option that can be safer than more traditional spinal surgeries. "We have performed more than 200 TLIF procedures to treat spondylolisthesis and degenerative disc disease, and to correct failed back surgery," Dr. Kushwaha said. "Because of the high fusion rates and good clinical outcomes from these patients, we have found the TLIF procedure to be the most effective technique in managing these complex spinal problems." Sixty to 90 percent of the population will experience lower back pain. TLIF enjoys a high success rate because it supports and generates bone growth on both sides of the spine. The Webcast program is second in a series sponsored by Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and affords medical professionals and consumers the opportunity to view cutting-edge surgical procedures live on the Internet from anywhere in the world.

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