"I think the surgery we were doing in the past was more radical and extensive than needed to be done." Doctor Thomas P. Sculco, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, speaks about the advances made in the field of hip replacement but notes that skill and expertise are still as important as ever.

Dr. Sculco



I think the surgery we were doing in the past was more radical and extensive than needed to be done



Like all forms of surgery. Gynecological surgery. Urological surgery. Orthopedic surgeons have been interested in trying to lesson the trauma of the surgery on patients. And that's something I've very interesting in for the last eight or nine years. I think the surgery we were doing in the past was more radical and extensive than needed to be done. And I think it's important that if one can lesson that trauma to the patient and the surgery, that the recovery is quicker. On the other hand there are limitations. A hip replacement is still a replacement of the joint. And minimally invasive is probably not a good phrase to use. It's really less invasive. I think you need to be experienced in hip replacement surgery to do it well. When I teach about this what I try to teach surgeons is that we have a very good operation in hip replacement we don't want to compromise that by making the incision in the approach smaller. You want to do a good job. And its important that you be experienced to do a good job through these smaller approaches.