Clinical Research & Education

Research is a key element of the Institute's goal to increase the quality of care of joint replacement patients. Using research, the Institute's physicians study how to improve the surgery process itself with the least possible invasive surgical approach, to examine which types of implants produce the best results, and to evaluate best practices for rehabilitation to decrease the patient's time in the hospital and in outpatient rehabilitation.

The medical treatment provided by the Institute for Joint Restoration and Research has always been grounded in evidence-based practices published in medical literature. However, because the program developed its own innovative surgical and therapeutic approaches, the staff now draws heavily on the joint registry, a computerized database used within the Institute. Several departments contribute critical information into this joint registry and the data is updated continually. The analysis of the outcomes from various therapeutic approaches directly informs and guides patient care on a daily basis.

The Institute’s extensive clinical research program monitors the results of less invasive surgical techniques, evaluates various blood-conservation methodologies to minimize the use of blood transfusion, and assesses the outcomes associated with new implants that preserve bone and are gender specific.

Dr. Dearborn and Dr. Sah are active in the design of new joint replacement implants, with the intent of extending their longevity. Both physicians and their Institute teams use the joint registry to monitor the function of thousands of implants to identify optimal materials, designs, and techniques. Registry data is extracted regularly for Dr. Sah’s presentations at regional, national and international meetings.

During the next ten years, as the influence of the Institute for Joint Restoration and Research grows, the clinical database will serve as the foundation of an enhanced research program. Coupled with increased teaching and the current, outstanding surgical program, a robust research program will transform the Institute into an internationally known orthopaedic institute, advancing knowledge in joint replacement, training surgeons in minimally-invasive techniques, and offering the best hip and knee replacement surgery to patients from all over the world.

Research Activities

• 90-Day Morbidity and Mortality in Primary Total Hip Replacement and Total Knee Replacement
• Blood Management Techniques in Hip and Knee Replacement
• Prospective Post Market Clinical Follow-Up Study of the Continuum™ Metal on Polyethylene Acetabular System
• Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis After Hip and Knee Replacement
• Comparison of Proximal Press-Fit Femoral Stems in Total Hip Replacement
• Early Closed Knee Manipulation for Arthofibrosis After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty
• Prospective Evaluation of Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty With and Without Use of a Thrombis Hemostatic Matrix
• Knee Implant Size Differences in Patients Undergoing Simultaneous Bilateral TKA