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Outing attracts 40 golfers with joint replacements by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations About 40 men and women who have undergone joint replacement therapy at MUSC gathered Oct. 20 for a celebratory round at Patriot Point Links.   The Third Annual MUSC Joint Replacement Reunion also drew more than 300 people who gathered that evening at the Omar Shrine Reception Hall to have fun and learn about joint replacement therapy from MUSC Bone and Joint Center experts Del Schutte, M.D., Harry Demos, M.D., and the center’s staff.   Brian Tisdale takes a swing during the Joint Replacement Reunion at Patriot Point Oct. 20. Of the 40 golfers, Tisdale, who had a hip replaced in September, was the most recent joint replacement patient competing. Since it opened three years ago, the Bone and Joint Center has performed about 500 joint replacements a year, Schutte said.   Among those who have undergone replacement therapy were golfers Gary Bailey of Bluffton and Brian Tisdale of Andrews. Each man suffered joint conditions for different reasons.   A former semi-pro football player, Bailey blames his injured knee joints on the rough-and-tumble sport. He also sustained injuries on the job about 20 years ago that resulted in hip replacement therapy. Bailey has had one hip replaced already and is preparing to have the other one replaced soon.   Although always athletic, Tisdale, in his late 20s, is a younger-than-normal joint replacement patient. A congenital condition from birth that led to dwarfism also impaired his hips. He had both of his hips replaced—one in June and the other in September. Now he is wielding a nine-iron with no pain or affliction. “It feels great,” exclaimed Tisdale after teeing off for a 200-plus yard stroke.   Schutte said that at the average cost of $17,000 for hip replacement, the improvement of quality of life per dollars spent makes it the leading surgery in the United States, followed by knee replacement surgery and cataract surgery. He also attributed gains in anesthesia with helping enhance and expedite recovery for patients.   “We’ve come a long way in joint replacement,” Demos added. “Our goal is that we want replacement to work for 30 years and not just for 10 years.”   Schutte explained that while most patients are older than 55, replacement therapy has been performed successfully on persons of all ages.   For more information about joint replacement therapy, call 792-2400 or 800-424-MUSC.     Friday, Oct. 27, 2006 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 catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.