Center for Joint Replacement

Having joint replacement surgery is a big decision. It’s a significant experience that can have a major impact on your quality of life. If you’ve been suffering from joint pain that prevents you from enjoying the things you love and cannot be adequately treated with nonsurgical methods, it may be time for joint replacement. An orthopedic surgeon can let you know for sure.

Making this decision is very important. Where you choose to have your surgery is also important, because the success of your surgery and your recovery depend on the quality of your care. At the Center for Joint Replacement at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Orthopedic Institute in New Jersey, we tailor your care to your needs with superior technical skills, a superb facility, and most importantly, a human touch. With our expert surgeons, leading-edge technology, the most advanced rehabilitation services, and specially trained nurses, we are dedicated to helping you get back to the life you want.

Nationally Recognized Expertise

The Center for Joint Replacement is the only joint replacement program in Bergen County and one of only four in the state to receive Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification from the Joint Commission. This recognition is awarded to hospitals that have developed consistent communication and collaboration among all healthcare providers involved in the care of the patient — from the pre-surgical orthopedic consultation through the procedure, recovery, and follow-up care. We are also a top performer in the country for achieving a high volume of surgeries efficiently and with a low rate of postoperative infection — an indicator of quality care. U.S. News & World Report has ranked our orthopedic program among the top 50 in the nation for the outstanding quality of our care.

A Team to Meet Your Needs

Your team includes all of the specialists you need to understand and navigate all of the components of your care.

• Orthopedic Nurse Navigator—a specially trained registered nurse with many years of experience who is assigned to you when you schedule your surgery—answers your questions, guides you through the process, and will make sure that you understand everything from the moment you are diagnosed through your surgery and recovery. She provides education before your surgery and before you leave the hospital, helps you arrange for the care you will need after you leave the hospital, and follows up with you as you recover.
• Orthopedic Care Coordinator, an Advanced Practice Nurse who works with your doctor and other healthcare providers to ensure you have the information, care, and services you need while you are in the hospital. She will also make sure that you understand your treatment and your treatment goals.
• Orthopedic surgeons have exceptional experience in joint replacement surgery and provide your care with compassion and superb skill. Our surgeons have been involved in the development of new technologies, implant design, and minimally invasive surgical approaches for total hip and knee replacement.
• Physical therapists are advanced certified therapists who start to get you moving with twice-daily sessions as soon as feasible after your surgery. They will help you set and achieve goals to improve your movement and function.
• Pain management specialists use best practices to help relieve your pain and discomfort, minimizing the use of opioids.
• Magnet®-recognized nurses provide compassionate bedside care while you are in the hospital.

Advanced Joint Replacement Surgery

Hackensack University Medical Center’s orthopedic surgeons are skilled in the performance of every type of joint replacement surgery. They use minimally invasive approaches whenever possible, resulting in smaller incisions, a shorter hospital stay, less discomfort after surgery, and a quicker recovery. The usual length of time for hospitalization after a total joint replacement is one to three days, with 80 percent of patients discharged to their homes for rehabilitation and recovery after leaving the hospital. If you need to enter a nursing home or rehabilitation facility before returning home, your team can help you coordinate that care. Our surgeons perform:

• Total knee replacement
• Partial (“unicompartmental” and “patellofemoral”) knee replacement
• Total hip replacement
• Anterior hip replacement
• Bilateral knee replacement
• Total shoulder replacement
• Reverse total shoulder replacement
• Revision of a prior joint replacement—a specialty of our surgeons—for patients experiencing continued discomfort after a previous joint replacement, management of fractures around the implant, and care of patients with infection.

Relieving Your Pain

A common concern of people undergoing joint replacement is pain. Our doctors and nurses do all we can to minimize the use of opioid medications, which can be addictive.

• We take a “multimodal” approach to managing your pain using different approaches before, during, and after surgery, such as pain medications, ice, anti-inflammatory drugs, and getting you moving as soon as we can after surgery.
• If you have a history of difficulty managing your pain or taking pain medications, we can schedule a pain evaluation before your surgery. A doctor who is board-certified in both anesthesiology and pain management will review your medical history, current medications, allergies, history, and past surgeries and anesthesia. We can discuss options for your anesthesia during surgery and the best approaches for managing your pain immediately following the procedure and after you leave the hospital.
• To minimize reliance on opioids, we do not use patient-controlled analgesia (a system where you push a button every time you want medication while in the hospital). We follow state guidelines limiting the number of pills prescribed during the first five days after you leave the hospital and participate in the Physician Monitoring System to track opioid prescriptions from other physicians.

Preparing You Before and After Surgery

Our Advanced Practices Nurses run educational classes before your operation to teach you what to expect. On the morning of your hospital discharge, you’ll participate in another class with other patients so you can learn how to care for yourself after you leave and to hear about complementary methods for relieving pain, such as deep breathing and meditation.

Learn about our pre-operative class.

Advancing the Use of Robots

Hackensack University Medical Center’s orthopedic surgeons are experienced in the use of surgical robots to perform partial knee replacement. They are now involved in clinical trials evaluating the use of new robotic systems to perform total knee and hip replacement. For example, our team helped create the new ROSA (Robotic Surgical Assistant) robot and is working with the manufacturer to create a Center of Excellence and training center for this system at Hackensack University Medical Center. This is just one avenue of exploration demonstrating the commitment of our orthopedic surgeons to advancing the field for all patients.

Randy earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and has spent the past 30 years in the specialties of Operating Room Nursing and Joint Replacement Surgery.  She has held a variety of positions involving direct patient care, education and management.  She has been certified in Operating Room Nursing and was a finalist for NJ Nurse of the Year in 2013.  Randy’s focus is to help people go through surgery with the knowledge that they are personally cared for along the spectrum of their experience. Randy joined the orthopedic team at Hackensack University Medical Center in October 2014 and since that time has been dedicated solely to the joint replacement program. She has presented nationally for NAON at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting.

Samantha earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from The College of New Jersey and her Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) postgraduate degree from Rutgers University. Samantha began her nursing career at Hackensack University Medical Center as a Registered Nurse (RN) on a medical-surgical unit before transitioning into the specialty of orthopedics. Upon completing graduate school, she transitioned into the role as an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) at the Orthopedic Institute. She works as a Nurse Practitioner with inpatient patients- specifically hip fracture, orthopedic spine, orthopedic trauma, and total joint replacement patients. Samantha is Orthopedic Nurse Certified (ONC) and is a member of the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses (NAON). She has presented nationally for NAON at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting.

Janine earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Duquesne University and her Masters in Nursing from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – School of Nursing. She began her nursing career as an inpatient Orthopedic staff nurse, earning her Orthopedic Nurse Certified (ONC) designation before pursing her master’s degree. Since becoming an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), Janine has been working with Joint Replacement patients exclusively and is currently our Total Joint Care Coordinator. In addition to holding advanced degrees in Nursing, Janine is a sought after writer and lecturer on various orthopedic topics.