It's being called the closest thing to outpatient joint replacement surgery.
Patients only spend a night in the hospital and are on their feet just hours after surgery.
For Karen Hart, even the simplest things, like walking her dog or walking downstairs to her basement workshop, used to be excruciatingly painful.
A major hindrance considering her passion is making copper metal garden sprinklers, which requires her to spend a lot of time down in that workshop and on her feet.
Hart suffered from osteoarthritis in her hips and it affected her knee, too. Medication didn't help.
The pain first began 10-12 years ago, but over the past year, Hart said it became so unbearable life could hardly be enjoyed.
As a last resort, she contacted Dr. Cyna Khalily, an orthopedic surgeon, to have her hip replaced.
Khalily uses a new innovative hip replacement technique. It is the same concept as before, removing the arthritic socket and replacing it, but, the 'Wright Path' surgical technique is much less invasive.
The surgeon doesn't cut through as much muscle, and the implants, which used to be 'one-size-fits-all', are now customizable. The metal hip lasts longer, is more stable and feels more natural than what doctors previously used.
"The advantage of that is patients are up on their feet, and out of the hospital much quicker," says Khalily. "This is as close as we've come to outpatient joint replacement surgery."
Hart had the surgery earlier this year. She says at four weeks out she could have jumped on a trampoline, and at three weeks, she could do squats. But just a few hours after surgery, she was out of bed and on her feet.
Khalily says this is drastically different than before when patients were in the hospital for a week and on a walker for months.
Karen Hart says now she is 'struttin' ' and her new hip, and this new style of surgery, is a lifesaver.
