Dr. Hussain performs many total ankle replacement surgeries every year with excellent results. He is the only surgeon in the Chambersburg area offering this exciting new procedure to patients. Total ankle replacements are indicated for severe ankle joint arthritis and continued pain. Most patients have failed conservative treatment including injection therapy, physical therapy, bracing, and ankle arthroscopy. For more information about Total Ankle Joint Replacement Surgery or to schedule and appointment with Dr. Hussain, call Orthopaedic Associates at 717-264-6211.

As Baby Boomers are getting older–but aren’t necessarily slowing down–total knee replacement surgery is becoming more and more common. Each year in the U.S., nearly 300,000 patients undergo the procedure, and experts say that number is growing because life expectancy is going up and people are remaining physically active longer than did previous generations.

Unfortunately, total knee replacement surgery typically knocks patients off their stride for months due to its invasive nature. But one local surgeon is attempting to break with this tradition by using a remarkable new technique that reduces the length of the surgical incision by as much as 70-percent.

“Patients benefit tremendously from this brand new mini-incision surgery,” explains Dr. Robert Richards of Orthopaedic Associates here in Chambersburg, “A smaller incision means less trauma to soft tissue–that means there’s less post-operative pain and a faster return to physical activity. It gets them back on their feet much more quickly.”

Dr. Richards uses a new set of surgical instruments recently developed by British medical device manufacturer Smith & Nephew, and he is among an elite group of surgeons in the nation who are performing this mini-incision technique.

During knee replacement surgery, the surgeon removes the top portion of the tibia, replacing it with a metal platform and a piece of plastic that replaces the knee’s cartilage. He also removes the arthritic layer of bone at the bottom tip of the femur, replacing it with a tough metal component. This metal component moves against the plastic piece to restore the now pain-free artificial joint to physical activity.

In traditional knee surgery, the incision is between eight and ten inches long. Using the new technique, Dr. Richards is able to perform the operation through an incision as small as three and a half inches.

“There are obvious cosmetic advantages to a smaller incision,” says Dr. Richards. “But as a surgeon, I like the fact that my patients are able to reclaim their physically active lives so much faster than expected. I believe this will eventually be the standard of care in orthopedic medicine, and it’s nice to be able to bring this advanced surgery to local patients now.”

The 2010 annual meeting will include Presidential Guest Speaker, Dr. Richard Lackman, past Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and current Director of the Sarcoma Center of Excellence at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. He recently resigned as Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Director at the University of Pennsylvania after serving ten years in that position. In 2008, Dr. Lackman received the Parker Palmer Courage to Teach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, (ACGME). This is the highest honor bestowed by the ACGME for Graduate Medical Education and Dr. Lackman is only the second orthopaedic surgeon in the United States to receive this honor.

Keynote addresses will be given by David H. Janda, M.D., Founder and Director of the Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine, the only health care cost containment organization of its kind in North America. Janda has also served on the National Institute of Health Trauma research Task Force and the Governor’s Council on Health, Fitness and Sports for the State of Michigan. In 1992, he was appointed by the Bush Administration to the Board of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. He is currently the Chairman of the Advisory Group on the Prevention of Sports Injures for the State of Michigan.

The Howard Steel Lecture, a foundation created to present a speaker on a non medical topic, will feature Mr. Michael Butz, Deputy Executive Director of the United States Golf Association. Mr. Butz joined the USGA in 1980 as Manager of Regional Affairs for the Southeastern Region. Today, his main duties include negotiating all USGA Championship host club agreements, advance planning and oversight of the US Open, Women’s Open, Senior Open and US Amateur Championships, Walker Cup and the Merchandise/Licensing Department. He is a Chambersburg native.

Dr. Richards, Jr. follows in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Robert N. Richards, Sr., who served as the ninth Eastern Orthopaedic President in 1978 when the meeting took place in Acapulco, Mexico. Richards, Jr. is a graduate of Mercersburg Academy, Bucknell University, and the Temple University School of Medicine and Residency Program. He has served as an orthopaedic surgeon in Franklin County and the tri state area for twenty seven years, since returning to Chambersburg to join his father’s practice in 1983. He also is the team physician for Shippensburg University and Chambersburg Area High School Athletic Programs. He and his wife Cindy have five grown children, one grandchild, and reside in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. .