Ankle Replacement Surgery Now Offered at OrthoIllinois
September 16, 2019 … William Bush, DPM and Mark Barba, MD, of OrthoIllinois together performed the practice’s first total ankle replacement, known as ankle arthroplasty in August 2019. Since that initial patient, Dr. Bush has performed subsequent total ankle replacement procedures.
The availability of the total ankle arthroplasty procedure in Rockford is significant because patients suffering with end-stage arthritis or problems due to past traumatic injury to the ankle now have access to a beneficial treatment option closer to home. And the total ankle replacement procedure offered by Drs. Bush and Barba offer patients significant benefits over other treatment options.
Patients suffering from pain and loss of mobility due to an ankle condition have commonly undergone an ankle fusion in which the tibia, fibula, and talus bones that comprise the ankle joint are joined together. While this surgical procedure offered pain relief, the patient lost the flexibility associated with normal ankle movement. Unlike an ankle fusion, ankle arthroplasty has proven highly effective in relieving pain while preserving motion in the ankle joint by replacing the damaged portions of the bones with stronger synthetic parts specifically designed to mimic the movement of the original joint.
Additionally, the specific synthetic joint replacement used at OrthoIllinois is made of a special porous material that allows the patient’s bone to grow into it and has shown durability and longevity exceeding other types of joint replacement implants. This total ankle replacement is performed as an outpatient procedure for most patients, requiring no overnight hospital stay, and with little or no need for post-operative narcotic usage.
Dr. Bush and Dr. Barba are Board-certified surgeons at OrthoIllinois in Rockford. OrthoIllinois serves the Northern Illinois region in multi-specialty orthopedics from offices in Rockford, Algonquin, and Elgin, Illinois and offers a full range of bone and joint care including the specialties of neurosurgery, podiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, occupational health and Rheumatology. OrthoIllinois offers the ancillary services of physical therapy, MRI, and an out-patient surgery center.
