Hip-Hip-Hooray!

Neel Patel, MD is an Adena Orthopedic Surgery Specialist who has been with Adena for almost a year. In that brief time, he has made significant impacts for patients. He is highly experienced in joint pain and joint replacement, using the latest techniques to improve patients’ outcomes. Originally from the east coast, his fellowship at Joint Implant Surgeons (New Albany, OH) has brought him to the Midwest and he now calls Ohio home.

A Pain in the Joint

Joint pain can occur for multiple reasons. Most commonly, as we get older, wear and tear cause joint tissue and cartilage to breakdown, which leads to inflammation or bone-on-bone joint pain. Other causes of joint pain can be injury, infection or disease-based issues like gout, bursitis, and other inflammatory conditions. Although there are more than 100 types of arthritis, Dr. Patel says the Adena Orthopedics team most often sees patients with osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and post-traumatic arthritis. The difference between the three is:

• OA results from wear and tear to the joint cartilage and usually occurs in just one joint.
• RA is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system malfunctions and attacks the synovial membrane that protects the joints. RA usually attacks several joints at one time.
• Post--traumatic arthritis occurs after an injury and generally progresses to become worse over time.

For these and other types of arthritis, effective treatment can often consist of oral medications, topical creams and therapy. When conservative management fails and pain impacts a patient’s quality of life, surgery may serve as an alternate long-term solution.

The Hip Bone’s Connected to…

Hip replacements are one of the most common joint replacement surgeries in the United States. Each year there are more than 300,000 hip replacements performed around the country. “Patients come in unable to tie their shoes, they have pain and a diminished quality of life,” says Dr. Patel. At Adena, Dr. Patel and the Orthopedics team are here to help and are experienced in all aspects of hip replacement surgery, including the standard approaches of posterior (from the back of the hip), anterior (from the front of the hip) and lateral (from the side of the hip). Dr. Patel works with patients to determine their best approach. He has had notable success for patients by performing minimally invasive anterior hip replacements. Using this approach, Dr. Patel spares muscle by spreading it apart instead of cutting it. This enables faster recovery and helps reduce post-surgical pain for patients. All of the hip replacement approaches are effective and have been working for patients for decades, with the anterior approach, “because you’re not cutting muscles, your recovery is simply much better in the first 6 weeks,” says Dr. Patel. “Most people are on a walker or cane for that first week [after surgery]; they transition to not using anything with the anterior approach that second to third week and they’re usually walking around that second, third, fourth week.”

Hip to Your Needs

Joint pain can be difficult, negatively effecting patients’ range of motion, ability to do common things and their quality of life. Dr. Patel stresses that Adena Orthopedics looks at each individual patient holistically and always begin with non-surgical approaches when possible. “We talk about your health and becoming the best version of you prior to any surgery,” says Dr. Patel. Many times, joint pain can be addressed with activity and lifestyle modifications, topical creams, medications, or site injections. When those approaches no longer work for pain, that’s when the team looks at the possibility of surgery.

Optimizing the Relations“Hip”

At Adena Orthopedics, our goal is to have patients “have improved quality of life,” says Dr. Patel. If a patient needs surgery to reduce chronic joint pain, they go through an optimization process to best prepare themselves for hip (or knee) replacement success. Dr. Patel and the Adena Orthopedics team review patients’ cases with an Adena multidisciplinary provider team to ensure the best outcomes. They work with patients to make sure they are prepared, possibly with lifestyle changes, some weight loss or muscle therapy to have a successful outcome.

Hip to the Hype

Adena Orthopedics is a highly experienced and trusted partner in joint treatment and hip and knee replacement surgeries. Dr. Patel and the Orthopedic surgeons often perform robot-assisted surgeries to enhance precision and safety. Our Adena nurse navigators engage patients to make sure they are prepared and active in their joint health program. Adena has received The Gold Seal of Approval® from The Joint Commission, a US-based, non-profit accreditation organization that reviews healthcare programs internationally. The Gold Seal accreditation endorses Adena’s high level of quality care, use of best practices, thorough follow-up and positive patient outcomes. Adena has also received a five-star overall hospital rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This rating is based on the CMS consumer-oriented website: Hospital Compare, a rating tool consumers can use to compare hospital performance. Adena is one of only 35 Ohio hospitals to receive a five-star rating out of Ohio’s 134 rated hospitals.

If you’re experiencing joint pain or hip pain, contact the Adena Orthopedics team at (740) 779-4598.