NEW DEVICE COULD SAVE THE HIPS OF AVASCULAR NECROSIS PATIENTS

A new surgical device, the Hip Tool, could provide an alternative to radical hip replacement surgery for many patients suffering from a debilitating hip condition called osteonecrosis/avascular necrosis.

Osteonecrosis/avascular necrosis may occur as a side-effect of steroid use, a variety of medical conditions that block the blood flow to the hip joint, or in patients receiving highly active antiretroviral medication, HARRT, for individuals with HIV. The device and procedure offers many of these patients a chance to save their hip, while also allowing for minimally invasive surgery with a relatively speedy (and less painful) recovery.

The tool is an endoscopically guided insertion system for plate and compression screw device specifically designed to stabilize the bone graft packed into the femoral head and neck after core decompression/debridement for osteonecrosis/avascular necrosis/aseptic necrosis.

The Hip Tool surgery involves removing the dead bone from the affected area inside the hip and replacing it with the patient's own healthy bone, using the Hip Tool device. The healthy bone heals, as would a simple fracture in the affected area, offering renewed life to the hip.