Results of Dr. John Noble’s Knee Replacement Study Published in Medical Journal

John Noble Jr., MD, orthopaedic surgeon with Center for Orthopaedics, completed the Visionaire value pilot study earlier this year to evaluate the cost benefit ratio between the use of two types of instrumentation in total knee replacement procedures.

The results of this study, which took place over the course of four months, were published in the January issue of The Journal of Arthroplasty. All procedures were performed at CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital.

During the investigation, Dr. Noble compared standard instrumentation to Visionaire patient-matched technology. The Visionaire system, developed by Smith & Nephew, uses a patient’s pre-operative MRI and x-rays to create customized surgical instruments to be used in place of standard instrumentation during a total knee replacement.

The study found that the Visionaire custom system provided significant patient benefits, including more natural postoperative alignment, as well as reductions in incision length, operative time and duration of hospital stay.

Smith & Nephew chose Lake Charles as the only site for this initial pilot study based on Dr. Noble’s interest in the procedure and his experience with computer assisted navigation, as well as the reputation of the research department and the organizational skills of research manager DeAnne Winey-Ward.

Based on the results Dr. Noble documented in this pilot study, a larger multi-center study to further evaluate the advantages of using patient-matched instrumentation will begin soon.