Return to Main Menu

Total joint program to expand service by Dick Peterson Public Relations When orthopaedic surgeons Del Schutte and Harry Demos met with a group of former patients, caregivers and community leaders recently, they looked for help to improve MUSC’s total joint program. Dr. Del Schutte confers with golf pro Raymond Franz Monday morning just prior to his scheduled hip replacement surgery. Franz is Schutte's first patient in MUSC's newly established total joint replacement unit. While a great deal of work has yet to be done before the unit can be officially opened, seven beds are dedicated for total joint replacement.  And they got it. With offers to help came advice, ideas and a few pointers where MUSC could improve the way it treats its joint replacement patients from the day they walk in the door and for the rest of their lives. “Total joint replacement is a lifetime investment,” Schutte said later. “These people are our alumni. They’re in the system. We’re concerned about their long-term result, not just the short-term. We follow up with them yearly for the rest of their lives.”  Enlisting their alumni will give Schutte and Demos the insight they need to develop an already highly successful program into a full-service, inpatient center. “We’ve performed more than 1,500 joint replacements —a significant number of highly complex cases—in the past three years.” “We want to communicate back to our alumni, because we believe that patient results are the best marketing tool we have.” Schutte added that help from the program’s alumni will aid in establishing a more comprehensive research effort as well.  Demos said that a total joint unit would make MUSC’s program the best available. Already tops in the actual joint replacement procedure, he told those assembled that the program needs to attract joint replacement candidates to MUSC before they go elsewhere. Schutte said that MUSC should be the joint replacement center of first resort. “Already we are a referral center for implants that either have failed or are complex,” he said. “We need to help patients avoid those early failures.”  A hip or knee replacement should provide pain-free mobility for 25-30 years, he said.  Plans to bring MUSC’s joint replacement program into public view include organizing a group to walk the Cooper River Bridge complete with T-shirts.  “If anyone should be involved in the Bridge Run and Walk, it should be orthopaedics,” Demos said. Other plans include an annual reunion of joint replacement recipients, families, caregivers and clinicians. Demos described a joint replacement reunion held at a hospital in London, Ontario, Canada, while he was there for a total joint fellowship. Called “Hip, Hip, Horray!” the reunion was held at the city’s fairgrounds and exhibition hall and was attended by equipment manufacturers, bands, physical therapists and clinicians. It was a chance for patients and those who may need joint replacement surgery to learn about the latest innovations and compare their experiences with others. Schutte also welcomed the eagerness of individuals in the group to join him in speaking engagements to civic groups where he talks about advances in orthopaedics and joint replacement surgery, but is reluctant to “sell” the MUSC program. Perspectives from people who have actually gone through the procedure would give audiences a better idea of what prospective patients would encounter and give greater credibility to the MUSC total joint program, he said. “Take a patient with you to the talk,” one guest said. “Who can better identify with the whole thing?” “The power of patient-to-patient advertising is huge,” Demos agreed. “When we go, we go to answer questions on orthopaedics and knee replacements, not to sell. It would be great to have patients there as well.” Another said that when people have problems, they come to MUSC . “It would be good if MUSC would set aside this as a bone and joint replacement specialty center with a team approach, a center that is comfortable for people and families from outside of Charleston.” In agreement, another guest said to Schutte, “When the operation is over, I have no other doctor but you.” She said that a patient’s joint replacement experience could be improved by a coordinated program that follows a patient through recovery, rehabilitation and even back home to ensure a successful and lasting outcome. “It’s a shame you don’t have a rehabilitation unit here. People go back to Florence from here and not know where to go for rehab,” a guest said. Amy King, clinical nurse specialist and program coordinator for the Department of Orthopaedics’ total joint program, said that as a result of the meeting a follow-up session is planned for Feb. 28 and that sub-committees have been formed to organize special events and marketing.  “We’re planning a joint replacement walk as part of Team MUSC at the Bridge Run and Walk on April 5, and a joint reunion is in the works.” She said that volunteers have stepped up to give patient education presentations on the total joint program, and one subcommittee will examine the joint replacement process to identify ways it can be improved. Total joint unit ‘essential’ “Having a unit for elective total joint patients is a most welcome and essential part of the joint replacement program. The needs and expectations of these patients are significantly different from the trauma and other orthopaedic patients. The unit will not only allow for more personalized and specialized care but through the use of care plans, etc., should help further decrease costs for the hospital.  “The opening of this unit represents a tremendous effort on the part of a lot of people not only in the department of orthopaedics but the hospital and board. Specifically, Melvin Berlinsky, Conyers O'Bryan and Don Johnson on the board, Stuart Smith, Marilyn Schaffner, Peggy Simmons, and Maureen Decker from the hospital and Langdon Hartsock, Donna Bradham and Amy King from our department.” —Dr. Del Schutte, Orthopaedic Surgery Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.