Options for Ankle Joint Replacement

Baptist Health Paducah: Options for Ankle Joint Replacement

Podiatrist WILLIAM ADAMS describes how new advanced procedures, such as customized total ankle joint replacement, can help get arthritis patients back on their feet.

Options for Ankle Joint Replacement Health Talks Transcript

William R. Adams, DPM, Podiatry, Orthopaedic Institute of Western Kentucky
The operative treatment of ankle arthritis includes open ankle arthrodesis, arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis, as well as total ankle joint replacement. All of these procedures are performed at Baptist Health Paducah.

Jack Glass:
I’ve been very active all my life. I’ve done a lot of walking, and it got to where the pain was very severe.

Dr. Adams:
Jack was actually a perfect candidate. His arthritis was a primary osteoarthritis, meaning that he hadn’t had any previous trauma. I had discussed with him a couple of different procedures. One was arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis which is a fusion procedure performed through a scope versus the total ankle replacement. And we discussed at length the risks and benefits and the options of both, and he chose to do the ankle replacement. The name of the procedure is total ankle arthroplasty with implant or total ankle joint replacement. There are alignment guides, which are made from a CT scan with computer imaging that recreate the patient’s anatomy and then these specific alignment guides are made for each patient.

Jack Glass:
Well, I can walk without pain now. As far as being able to do almost anything I did before, I can play golf, which requires quite a bit of walking.

Dr. Adams:
All treatments for disabling ankle arthritis, including total ankle joint replacement, have really helped with getting people back on their feet.