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Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgeons to Provide Free Hip, Knee Surgeries
By
Nov 25, 2015 - 10:08:22 AM
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Rosemont, Ill. - While many of us take for granted our daily mobility, millions of Americans are living with excruciating hip and knee pain that cripples them, their lifestyles and their ability to work or provide for themselves or their families. There are physical and psychological tolls. Most of all, they just want their lives back.
The solution is often hip and knee replacement surgery. But what happens to those individuals who desperately need new joints to minimize pain and regain mobility and can't have access to them due to lack of insurance coverage, financial or other constraints?
Operation Walk USA takes place annually early December to allow for greater hospital, surgeon and medical staff participation - and as a holiday gift to the patients it treats. The program provides all aspects of treatment ─ surgery, hospitalization, and pre-and post-operative care ─ at no cost to participating patients who may not qualify for government health coverage, have insurance or afford surgery on their own.
Arthritic disease is the most common cause of disability in the U.S., affecting approximately 46 million Americans, or more than 21 percent of the adult population. The debilitating end stages of hip or knee degenerative disease often makes working, or completing even the simplest of daily tasks, exceedingly difficult and challenging.
"It gives us the greatest joy to be able to help patients with crippling hip and knee pain regain mobility, independence and a renewed quality of life," said New Albany, Ohio orthopaedic surgeon Adolph V. Lombardi, Jr., MD, president and co-founder of Operation Walk USA. "We are ready to begin the sixth annual Operation Walk USA program and remain so very appreciative of the many medical volunteers, donors and supporters, our patients and their families, who help us champion this effort."
Operation Walk USA began in 2010 following the tremendous success of Operation Walk, an international volunteer medical service organization that provides treatment for patients with arthritis and joint conditions in developing countries. To date, nearly 600 patients through Operation Walk USA, held in the month of December, 2010 through 2014. Since 2010, Operation Walk USA knee and hip replacement surgeries and related care are valued at more than $15.5 million.
Device manufacturers DePuy Synthes, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, Total Joint Orthopedics, and Zimmer Biomet are donating the hip and knee implants for the 2015 Operation Walk USA; SunMedica, Inc., is donating orthoRAP and koolRAP products; and Ortech Data, Inc., is donating technology for electronic medical record (EMR) management. Ortech will transfer Operation Walk USA 2015 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant data to the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), a national center for data collection and research on total hip and knee replacements.
Operation Walk USA 2015 facts:
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Want to learn more about joint replacement, or how to better take care of your joints? The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) hosts an informative and interactive patient education site at www.orthoinfo.org. Orthopaedic surgeons restore mobility and reduce pain; they help people get back to work and to lead independent, productive lives. Visit ANationInMotion.org to read successful orthopaedic stories.
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