Collierville, Tenn., April 29, 2005 - Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville recently began offering the latest in orthopaedic surgical technology, making it the first hospital in Tennessee to provide the service.

The equipment, called StealthStation®, is a computer-assisted navigation system that visually guides surgeons through complicated operative procedures, such as knee and hip surgeries. Using anatomic landmarks, the system gives surgeons the ability to more clearly pinpoint correct alignment. The technology is imageless, requiring no pre-operative image scans.

“The navigation allows us to register different anatomic landmarks with the probe, which allows us to visualize more clearly our patients’ joints during surgery,” said John Crockarell Jr., M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with The Campbell Clinic who operates at Baptist Collierville. “So for example, we can determine the correct knee or hip implant alignment based on the patient’s unique anatomy, taking into account any deformities or bone loss.”

The constant flow of information from this advanced tool allows the surgeon to navigate the surgery in real time, making any adjustments necessary along the way, with the goal of optimal placement of the implant. This allows surgeons to adjust their surgical plans during the surgery, which may leave patients with smaller incisions and reduced trauma to the surrounding tissue, which can lead to shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries.

Baptist Collierville also offers similar navigational technology for ear, nose and throat surgeries called LandmarX®. Unlike its orthopaedic counterpart, patients do undergo a pre-operative CT scan, which is then fed into the navigational system to be used as a guide throughout the surgery. This guide is used in correlation with anatomic landmarks marked by a tracking device worn by patients during surgery, allowing surgeons to more accurately navigate complicated sinus procedures.

“Use of the technology has helped me extend the use of minimally invasive approaches for complicated problems,” said Rick Chandra, M.D., chief of nasal and sinus disorders at UT Medical Group Inc. “Just as with the orthopaedic application, we hope this technology leads to shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries for our patients.”

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville opened its doors in May of 1999. With all the amenities of home, this full-service hospital sits on a 75-acre park-like campus and features extra-large patient rooms and a walking trail. Medical services include a full-service emergency room; inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation; inpatient and outpatient surgery; ICU; six-bed step-down unit, inpatient and outpatient diagnostics; the Baptist Sleep Disorders Center; and 48 acute care beds.

For more information on the use of this technology at Baptist Collierville, please call (901) 861-9000 or visit http://collierville.baptistonline.org.

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