Imagine a knee replacement that's made only for you.
Dr. Michael MacKay is using 3-D technology to customize every knee replacement he does.
"It's a good fit, and the patients feel like it's more natural," MacKay explains. "The same way they would feel if they had a custom pair of shoes that was made for their body, that's how they feel with this. It feels like their knee again. "
A CT scan takes a picture of the knee which is sent to a company called Conformis where it's made into a unique 3-D model that is an exact match of the patient's knee.
"We as orthopedic surgeons don't change very easily. With that said, when you find something that works well, I think it'll be easy to adopt it into the practice and offer to the patients," MacKay said.
Lois Withrow underwent the surgery last March after 100 miles of hiking took a toll on her body.
"Within two weeks, I was walking fairly normal without a walker or crutches, so that was pretty quick, but you have to work at the bending of the leg. That takes a while," Withrow said.
A few months after surgery Withrow was hiking again, even conquering the Great Wall of China.
"My knee did great. It was just wonderful. We hiked up and down that. It was on the edge of the mountain range, so lots of ups and downs and lots of steps that were uneven. It was quite a challenge. Everything was fine though. It was great," Withrow said.
Gale Erick, on the other hand, is having a slower recovery after her surgery in August. She says the cold weather isn't sitting well.
"I've had arthritis since I was in my 20s, and it's decided it wants to settle in the newest injured spot," Erick said. "It's finally showing enough progress that I'm happy with it."
Erick is determined to get down on her hands and knees to play with her puppy and tend to her garden.
"It is getting better and better every week," Erick said. "I'm doing things I could not do before."
Stiffness is one of the biggest problems we see with knee replacements, and I've seen less of that with this system," MacKay said about a system he says is transforming this common procedure.