Evaluating Options for Joint Replacement Surgery [Video]

About the video: I think it’s time for joint replacement surgery, how do I best evaluate the options?

Listen to Summit Orthopedics’ experts share insights on how to decide if and when joint replacement surgery is right for you. Featuring arthritis specialists, Kristoffer Breien, MD, and recently retired Jonathan Biebl, MD.

About Dr. Kristoffer Breien

Dr. Breien’s approach: “I tend to be more conservative in my approach, reserving surgery as a last option. In essence, I strive to care for patients and their problems in the same manner my family and I expect to be treated when we seek medical attention.”

Dr. Breien’s education: Dr. Breien received his undergraduate degree at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. He went to Creighton University for medical school and his residency at Creighton-Nebraska University Health Foundation in Omaha, Nebraska.

When to seek treatment for your arthritis

Arthritis doesn’t have to spell the end of an active life. If you are experiencing worrisome symptoms or persistent pain, the renowned arthritis specialists at Summit Orthopedics can help. We work with you to confirm a diagnosis and develop an appropriate conservative treatment plan. If nonsurgical treatments fail to support your lifestyle goals, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons will consult with you and discuss appropriate surgical options. Summit is home to innovative joint replacement options. Our Vadnais Heights Surgery Center is one of only two surgery centers nationally to receive The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement.

Start your journey to healthier joints. Find your arthritis expert, request an appointment online, or call us at (651) 968–5201 to schedule a consultation.

Summit has convenient locations across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We have state-of-the-art centers for comprehensive orthopedic care in Eagan, MN, Plymouth, MN, Vadnais Heights, MN, and Woodbury, MN, as well as additional community clinics throughout the metro and southern Minnesota.

More articles on joint replacement surgery

• Dr. Breien Discusses Surgical Advances In Knee Replacement
• Ask Dr. Hansen: What Can I Expect During Rehabilitation After Total Joint Surgery?
• Ask Dr. Wills: Should I Choose A Surgery Center Or Hospital For My Surgery?
• Arthritis: Many Types Cause Joint Pain
• Dr. Hansen Discusses Arthritis Fellowship Training
• Osteoarthritis And Your Joint Health

Video Transcription

In evaluating your options of whether or not you’re a surgical candidate, again, it’s a long and careful discussion with your treating physician. Primary things that I use in talking with patients is how much pain do you have, and how much have you lost in your activities of daily living. Because those two things together are a big slice of your quality of life, so it becomes quality of life decision. And because it’s a quality of life decision, you as the patient the only one that can really make the decision. We can give you the information, we can give you the risks, benefits, the alternatives, but the ultimate decision lies in the patients lap. I consider it to be an informed, collaborative decision. We’ve given them the information, we collaborate on what the plan might be, what the options are, and then the decision is made. When it comes time for a surgery, there’s still a few different options … surgical options. There is partial knee replacements, sometimes people have their entire knee replaced, sometimes it’s only one area of the knee that’s diseased or has arthritis in it. If that’s the case, then it may not be logical to replace the entirety of the knee if only the knee cap has got arthritis, or if only the inner part of the patients knee has arthritis. In the hip, it’s not usually that way. In the hip you have to replace the entirety of the hip, there’s no partial hip replacement. So surgical options in the hip are not quite as varied as in the knee, per se.

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