The key to a “direct anterior approach” total hip replacement is the positioning of the patient during surgery and the location of the incision itself, according to Dr. E. Marc Mariani, a board certified orthopedic surgeon at St. Mark’s Hospital who with colleague Dr. Michael H. Bourne and Dr. Peter Novak of the Salt Lake Orthopaedic Center are the first three Utah surgeons using the technique…

…Combined, they have decades’ experience in hip replacement. The result for the patient, they said, “is not better. It’s spectacularly better. Some people are going home on the second day, with little or no restriction. When they return for a two-week checkup, most of the patients don’t even need a cane”…

…The direct anterior approach, created by California surgeon Dr. Joel M. Matta, is not yet widely available. Only as many as 6 percent of orthopedic surgeons nationwide use the new technique, in part because it has a fairly steep learning curve. “That learning curve is its downside. It’s painful,” said Mariani, who added that it took Matta almost 10 years to perfect the technique before he could start teaching others. “There was a lot to sort out.”

Published on Sep 13, 2012

Dr. Bourne and Dr. Mariani pair up in this video to discuss hip and joint deterioration, including arthritis. They explain the causes, symptoms and treatments for different types of joint pain. Drs. Bourne and Mariani explain the advantages of performing an anterior hip replacement, which causes the patient less pain and discomfort, and provides the orthopedic surgeon with more accuracy.

St. Mark’s Hospital
1200 East 3900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84124