AAOS Registry Program Blog

July is Sarcoma Awareness Month. Few people can tell you that sarcoma is a rare cancer of the soft tissue and bone with over 70 subtypes. And even advocacy groups call it “a forgotten cancer.” But for the tens of thousands of Americans living with sarcoma, sarcoma isn’t rare: it’s a daily reality.

Sarcoma deserves recognition 365 days a year, not just during July.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) released a new report based on clinical data from hip and knee arthroplasty patient outcomes as part of the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), the largest orthopaedic registry in the world based on annual procedures submitted. Based on the sixth AJRR Annual Report on hip and knee arthroplasty data, the new resource highlights the information that is most relevant for patients and the public. It aims to help those outside the orthopaedic profession learn more about hip and knee replacement procedures and better understand how registry data can help to inform decisions and improve patient care.

Guest Blogger: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program Committee Member Richard Seiden

Richard Seiden is the AAOS Registry Program Public Advisory Board (PAB) Chair and the PAB Representative on the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) and Shoulder & Elbow Registry (SER) Steering Committees. In this blog, he shares his personal experience as a joint replacement surgery patient (he’s had hip replacements, knee replacements, and shoulder replacements). Mr. Seiden offers patients helpful advice to better prepare for dealing with post-surgery needs. He indicated that he hopes sharing his experience will be helpful to other patients, but his advice is not a substitute for consulting with your physician.

As an arthritis patient who has had multiple joint replacement surgeries, I try to turn my experiences with a disease or a treatment into “lessons learned” from which others can benefit. In particular, I like to think that my own outcomes from joint replacement surgeries can be the basis for further education for other patients, physicians or surgeons, and others in the health care delivery system. I believe that each patient’s “lived experience” through surgery and recovery should be added to a collection of data and knowledge of similar procedures.

Although these may not be the only ways to accomplish the “lessons learned” objective, there are two principal ways in which patients can make a contribution to “libraries” of patient experiences, through (1) Registries, and (b) Patient-Reported Outcomes or “PROs.”

Guest Blogger: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program Committee Member Richard Seiden

Richard Seiden is the AAOS Registry Program Public Advisory Board (PAB) Chair and the PAB Representative on the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) and Shoulder & Elbow Registry (SER) Steering Committees.

In this blog, Mr. Seiden shares his personal experience as a joint replacement surgery patient (he’s had hip replacements, knee replacements, and shoulder replacements). Mr. Seiden offers patients with joint issues helpful advice to better prepare for dealing with post-surgery physical therapy needs. He indicated that he hopes sharing his experience will be helpful to other patients, but his advice is not a substitute for consulting with your physician.

Guest Blogger: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program Committee Member Richard Seiden

Richard Seiden is the AAOS Registry Program Public Advisory Board (PAB) Chair and the PAB Representative on the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) and Shoulder & Elbow Registry (SER) Steering Committees. In this blog, he shares his personal experience as a joint replacement surgery patient (he’s had hip replacements, knee replacements, and shoulder replacements). Mr. Seiden offers reverse shoulder arthroplasty patients helpful advice to better prepare for dealing with post-surgery needs. He indicated that he hopes sharing his experience will be helpful to other patients, but his advice is not a substitute for consulting with your physician.

Undergoing the Same Surgery He Performs Informed a Joint Surgeon's Practice

This blog concludes a two-part interview series on the personal experience of Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, who underwent total knee arthroplasty. Both interviews originally appeared in AAOS Now (July and August 2019 issues, respectively) and were conducted by Meredith L. Grogan Moore, BS. The first blog posted on July 24 and the final blog is below.

The first installment in this series charted the story of how renowned joint replacement surgeon Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, discovered his own need for total knee arthroplasty, his reaction to the news, and his input on his treatment course. In part two, Dr. Bozic discusses the recovery process, the impact of the experience on the care of his own patients, the relevance of patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs), and what other providers can glean from this insider experience.

Use This Resource (and Others) to Inform Your Orthopaedic Patients

Creating an informed patient requires reliable, unbiased, and user-friendly joint and bone health resources throughout the patient engagement process. One of the newest American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) patient offerings is the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) Patient-Facing Interim Report. It joins an array of other AAOS patient education resources including the popular OrthoInfo website (over 3 million visits monthly) and the AAOS Registry Program Blog featuring orthopaedic patient stories from guest bloggers. Each of these offerings add a unique perspective to maintaining bone health, treatment options, and expected outcomes. All three resources (plus more) are detailed below and available to your patients.

How Impending Knee Replacement Surgery Took One Arthroplasty Surgeon by Surprise

Fig. 1 Three preoperative radiographic views from Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, of the right knee showing severe medical joint space narrowing and patellofemoral osteoarthritis.

COURTESY OF KEVIN J. BOZIC, MD, MBA

This blog is the first of a two-part series that originally appeared in AAOS Now (July 2019). It shares an interview with Dr. Kevin J. Bozic, MBA, about his own experience with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and how his decision process and treatment affected him as a patient. In August, our blog will share the second part of the interview which explores, not only his own post-operative patient journey, but how the role reversal from physician-to-patient influenced his interaction with the surgical patients he treats today. The interviews were conducted by Meredith L. Grogan Moore, BS*.

Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, is a renowned joint replacement surgeon in Austin, Texas. After graduating from the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, he trained in adult reconstructive surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Widely published across orthopaedic and health services journals, he is a pioneer in value-based health care. He is also chair of the Steering Committee for the American Joint Replacement Registry. A few years ago, Dr. Bozic found himself on a path to reconstructive surgery of his own knee. From the outset, unique considerations emerged. His preoperative physician-turned-patient experience is illuminating.

A Guest Blog by Richard Seiden

As a patient who has undergone multiple joint replacement surgeries (hip, knee, shoulder), I have learned a few things from my experience. Sharing what I’ve learned and making a difference in patient outcomes is important to me, but how? I’m a patient, not a doctor.

I have come to realize that I can play a meaningful role in improving care for future surgery patients, including myself, by doing what my doctor asks of me, and that includes participating in the patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys. The surveys are offered by health care provider sites participating in a clinical data registry. Sites can include hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), or physician offices. I simply answer a few questions prior to and after my surgery. This enables my surgeon and clinical team to monitor my self-reported recovery, my pain levels, and my return to daily activities. Through my participation, I am also providing direct personal input into a larger quality improvement effort. The aggregated data from those efforts can, over time, improve the processes, protocols, device selection, and recovery techniques available to other patients in the future. Sharing my recovery and related levels of satisfaction, also educates surgeons and clinicians regarding best practices in patient care. Here is how we, as patients, can assist.

A patient-reported outcomes program can help you choose the right surgeon and facility.

In this article, the AAOS Registry Program’s Public Advisory Board (PAB) member Timothy Mojonnier shares his personal experience as a joint replacement surgery patient. This article is not a substitute for physician recommendations.

Guest Blogger:
Timothy M. Mojonnier
President, Mojonnier & Associates
Educator, Loyola University

My symptoms appeared ten years ago while playing tennis. As I moved towards the net, I felt a stabbing pain in my right knee, so severe that I could barely walk. Upon returning home and getting x-rays, my orthopaedic specialist delivered the news: I had osteoarthritis. She indicated it was likely that I would eventually require a knee replacement; however, for eight years I was able to avoid the surgeon’s scalpel through a combination of physical therapy and medication.