Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine is among a small number of U.S. health systems offering a newer hip replacement technique designed to reduce soft tissue trauma and accelerate recovery.
The superior transverse atraumatic reconstruction approach, known as STAR, was developed in 2019 by Greek surgeon Eleftherios Tsiridis, MD, PhD. The procedure preserves the piriformis muscle and avoids muscle dissection during hip replacement surgery, according to a May 27 Johns Hopkins news release.
Patients undergoing the procedure typically experience less pain and faster recovery than with traditional approaches. Many patients walk the same day as surgery and some are discharged the same day, the release said.
Johns Hopkins is the only health system in Maryland and surrounding states offering the procedure. Savya Thakkar, MD, a hip and knee reconstructive surgeon at Johns Hopkins, is also helping train additional surgeons in the technique through the STAR Approach Foundation, an international education and research group co-founded by Dr. Tsiridis.
Johns Hopkins surgeons have performed more than 400 STAR procedures since adopting the approach about a year ago. The technique is intended for most patients requiring hip replacement, though it is generally not used for revision surgeries involving failed implants or fractures around existing implants, according to the release.
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