Suburban Hospital Offers Free Seminar: “Made to Order” Implants Advance Treatment of Joint Pain

When it comes to knees, one size doesn't fit all. Patients in need of a total knee replacement now have access to a custom-fitted replacement at Suburban Hospital, the only hospital in the Washington, DC region that has adopted the technology.

Want to learn more? On Tuesday, October 22, Suburban Hospital is hosting a free seminar, “Made to Order” Implants Advance Treatment of Joint Pain from 6:30 – 7:30 pm with orthopedic surgeon Christopher Cannova, MD. Those who suffer from knee or hip pain may benefit from Dr. Cannova’s discussion about next-generation technologies that reduce pain and restore mobility faster. The seminar will be held in the Suburban Hospital auditorium located at 8600 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda.

“Conventional ‘off-the-shelf’ knee implants come in standardized sizes that are approximations of a patient’s knee,” said Dr. Cannova. “The customized implant is designed precisely for each patient’s unique anatomy,” he said.

The innovative process uses CT scans of a patient’s knee, hip and ankle. These are uploaded to a sophisticated computer-aided design (CAD) software program that creates a 3-D model. Metal is poured into a mold to create a patient-specific knee implant that provides a nearly perfect fit to the shape and load-bearing capabilities of the patient’s own knee.

Suburban Hospital performs more joint replacement procedures than any other hospital in Montgomery County and is one of the busiest joint centers in the state. The hospital’s Joint Replacement Center also received the “Gold Seal of Approval” from The Joint Commission’s disease-specific certification program. For more information about Suburban Hospital’s Joint Replacement Center, visit suburbanhospital.org/jointcare. For a referral to an orthopedic surgeon, call 1-855-JHM-3939.

To register for Dr. Cannova’s presentation, please visit suburbanhospital.org/MadetoOrder.

Dr. Cannova attended medical school at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and performed his residency at Georgetown Hospital in Washington, DC. He is specialty trained in the newest techniques of minimally invasive hip and knee replacement surgery including partial joint replacement, joint resurfacing and alternative bearing joints. His areas of expertise are joint reconstruction and total joint replacement.