Dr. Richard Berger has revolutionized knee replacement surgery by developing a minimally invasive method of replacing these invaluable joints. As a result of Dr. Berger’s surgical method his patients experience greatly reduced pain and dramatically reduced recovery time compared with patients undergoing traditional hip and knee replacement surgery. In fact most of Dr. Berger’s patients are able to leave the hospital the same day of their joint replacement surgery.

Dr. Berger’s surgery is unique, although his minimally invasive procedure uses the same prosthesis as the standard total knee arthroplasty; he has created a method of replacing knee joints without cutting patient's muscles, ligaments or tendons through an incision of approximately two inches. This approach is possible because Dr. Berger has developed surgical tools that enable him to maneuver around a patient’s muscles and tendons to reach the arthritic bone.

Total Knee Surgery



During total knee surgery, Dr. Berger creates a small, one to two inch incision directly over the knee to reveal the end of the thigh bone, the top of the shin bone, and the back of the knee cap: the arthritic knee. This is the space where cartilage has been lost, causing bone on bone contact which causes the extreme arthritic pain patients experience. Dr. Berger begins by removing the arthritic bone on the bottom of the thigh bone- he uses special guides as he removes the arthritic bone to help shape the bone so the prosthesis fits securely. He then removes bone from the top of the shin bone and the back of the patella. Dr. Berger then carefully removes any bone spurs or scar tissue that may have formed around the knee joint as a result of arthritis.

Once the arthritic bone has been removed, Dr. Berger sizes the patient’s bone to find the perfect size prosthesis. Using sizer pieces that range in increments of millimeters he is able to create a perfect fit. When Dr. Berger is confident he has the optimal individual size, he secures the first part of the prosthesis to the end of the thigh bone using cement. The second part of the prosthesis is cemented to the top of the tibia. He then snaps a polyethylene liner to the top of the tibial component. This liner acts as cartilage and facilitates smooth and fluid movement. The final piece of the prosthesis is a polyethylene liner which is cemented to the back of the patella.



Once the prosthesis pieces are in place, Dr. Berger tests the patient’s range of motion by manually straightening and bending the patient’s knee. He finishes the surgery by washing the inside of the knee with an antibiotic wash to prevent infection and sews up the incision. On average, the whole process takes just over an hour.

After surgery, the patient is sent to a recovery room and then to a private hospital room. A few hours after surgery, the patient is examined by one of Dr. Berger’s nurses. The patient will walk down the hospital hallway and will climb and descend one flight of stairs. Once the patient has been thoroughly examined and all questions have been answered, the patient is discharged from the hospital the same day of surgery.