Three things to know:
1. Dr. Assini, a practicing orthopedic surgeon at Swedish Medical Center’s OrthoOne in Englewood, Colo., worked with the other surgeons to develop a technique called anterior PATH — the acronym standing for portal-assisted total hip.
2. In this approach, the surgeon makes a small, “bikini-type” incision within the skinfold of the hip, and performs the surgery from the front, Dr. Assini told CBS 4. A cannula inserted in the side of the thigh helps prepare the hip socket for artificial joint placement.
3. By creating a 3- to 4-inch incision “in line with the actual natural lines of healing of the skin,” the approach accelerates patients’ recovery, Dr. Assini said.
“This is kind of essentially a workhorse to allow us to put the instruments in and out without having to damage any tissue,” Dr. Assini said.
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