The Joint Replacement Center
When conservative, nonsurgical treatments no longer work to relieve your joint pain, joint replacement surgery may be your best option to return to the activities you love.
Each year about one million Americans have joint replacement surgery, with most achieving the twin goals of pain relief and better mobility. At the Beaufort Memorial Joint Replacement Center, our team of orthopedic specialists is committed to helping you restore and improve your quality of life.
Beaufort Memorial is one of only four hospitals in South Carolina to earn the Joint Commission's advanced certification for total hip and knee replacement. This certification is a testament to the level of patient safety and quality of care provided by our surgeons and staff.
Learn more about your options at our Solving Hip and Knee Pain class or schedule a visit with an orthopedic specialist.
Our Wellness Model
We view joint replacement as a choice. You are a healthy person with bad joints, not someone who is sick. So we'll be encouraging you to get back in your own clothes and have fun in group physical therapy sessions.
Every step of your care is planned with your support circle to deliver a positive experience and excellent clinical outcome. Our approach includes:
- A total joint coordinator to personally guide you through treatment
- A wellness model that fosters a low complication rate
- Involvement of your “first mate” — after-surgery support person — in group physical therapy and patient education sessions
- Helpful pre-operative education and preoperative assessment clinic that help you prepare for surgery with confidence
- Minimally invasive techniques that ensure you're up and moving quickly
- Outpatient rehabilitation services to help you maximize your recovery
With skilled, board-certified orthopedic surgeons, you have access to advanced, minimally invasive treatments that spare healthy bone and cartilage including Mako robotic arm-assisted knee replacement surgery. Where possible, surgeons take a small-incision approach to hip replacement with direct superior, posterior and anterior techniques that reduce pain, speed healing, and create a more durable replacement.
Have Questions?
Below are some of the most common questions about living with bone and joint pain, having joint replacement, and maintaining joint health heard by the specialists at the Beaufort Memorial Joint Replacement Center (Click on each question to read the answer.)
To learn more about joint conditions, treatment and joint replacement, register for our Solving Hip and Knee Pain class.
Joint pain is something most people face. What’s uncommon is pain that affects daily activities and limits quality of life. Learn more about common joint pain questions or schedule an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist to get to the source of joint pain.
Joint pain has many causes. One common source is arthritis, which can damage the joint, bone ends, or cartilage. Or, fluid filled sacs (bursae) that cushion joints become inflamed or tendons become irritated, injured or degraded. Sometimes pain is even referred to a joint from another area of the body. An orthopedic specialist can help you get to the bottom of joint pain.
An orthopedic surgeon is the first to tell you that treatment for joint pain rarely starts with a recommendation for surgery. Your physician will carefully evaluate your pain and situation and then pursue healing through nonsurgical treatment options. Surgery only enters as a treatment when conservative measures fail to resolve pain.
Conservative treatments can ward off joint pain for months or years. Other times, the pain worsens and infringes on your daily activities. Ask yourself questions about your physical ability to help guide your decision: Does pain limit your ability to walk or get around? Has pain lasted longer than six months? Have other treatments failed to relieve pain? Does pain affect how you live? Keep you from things you enjoy? Affect your mood? Always keep an open dialog with your orthopedic specialist about your pain.
Many people find joint replacement life changing, but the simple fact is — it’s surgery. Sometimes conservative treatment can be enough to maintain joint health. Other times, pain gets worse and changes how you live. Ask yourself questions about your physical ability to help guide your decision: Does pain limit your ability to walk or get around? Has the pain lasted more than six months? Have nonsurgical treatments failed to relieve your pain? Don’t forget to factor in your quality of life, too. Ask yourself: Is pain affecting your daily life? Keeping you from things you enjoy? Does it affect your mood? Speak to your orthopedic specialist about the variety of treatments available to relieve joint pain.
Joint replacement surgery can correct physical problems and conditions that cause pain. The typical result of joint replacement surgery is a successful one. Generally, patients experience less pain and improved mobility, and can resume activities that joint pain prevented. Even better, long term studies show that the majority of artificial joints and intact and functioning 20 years after surgery.
About 90 percent of patients gain pain relief and improved mobility. Beaufort Memorial’s Joint Replacement Center is based on a wellness model that utilizes minimally invasive surgery to lower complication rates. A one- or two-day hospital stay with group therapy usually speeds recovery and reduces pain. Outpatient rehabilitation services help maximize long-term recovery and mobility.
Generally, surgical recovery happens quickly — a two-day hospital stay followed by several weeks of limited activities and a carefully developed plan of rehabilitative therapy. For many patients, soft tissue and bone healing occurs within about 12 weeks, and they continue to regain muscle strength, endurance, coordination and balance one year after joint replacement. Every patient’s experience, pain threshold and dedication to rehabilitation are different and greatly affect the outcome of joint replacement.
Other questions? Call our orthopedic care coordinator at 843-522-7435. Or, learn more about joint health and treatment at a Solving Hip & Knee Pain class.