Scrubbing in with Dr. Ted Firestone
Think “Grey’s Anatomy,” only for real. The OR, the patient, the doctor, the commentary: All are real.
Scottsdale Healthcare surgeon Dr. Ted Firestone takes viewers into the OR for a firsthand look at minimally invasive hip replacement surgery when “The Latest Procedure: Anterior Total Hip Replacement Surgery” premieres Tues., Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. on KAET Channel 8, Arizona’s public television program. "The Latest Procedure" will highlight different Valley doctors and procedures in future episodes, the next of which is scheduled for February.
Dr. Firestone, medical director of the Total Joint Center at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center, performed the first anterior hip replacement at the Shea hospital in April 2008. The procedure utilizes a special operating table designed by Dr. Joel Matta, who has pioneered the procedure here in the U.S.
“This is the least invasive way to perform a total hip replacement because the muscles about the hip are spread rather than incised. He added, “In my experience, patients undergoing anterior hip replacement versus the conventional posterior surgery leave the hospital a full day earlier. I’ve also found that they experience less post-op pain and require fewer precautions.”
Host Jim Cissell (left) joins orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ted Firestone, to take viewers step-by-step through this innovative approach.
The program follows Dr. Firestone as he meets with patients, explains the surgical hardware and offers a tour of the operating room at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center.
Viewers not only scrub in with Dr. Firestone, they get a surgeon’s-eye view of the operation through a mini-cam strapped to his head while he offers a play-by-play description of the operation.
Only hours after the surgery, Dr. Firestone meets with his patient as she walks down the hallway in the specially designed Total Joint Center at the hospital.
“I’ve performed over 600 of these procedures using this special orthopedic table that allows X-rays to be obtained during the procedure, which helps improve the accuracy of component positioning and leg length determination,” Dr. Firestone explains.
Firestone is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in hip and knee replacement with special emphasis in complex joint reconstruction and revision surgery. He practices exclusively at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center and at Thompson Peak Medical Center.
At top: Arizona’s Dr. Ted Firestone performs anterior total hip replacement surgery in the pilot The Latest Procedure program premiering on Eight, Arizona PBS on Tues., Nov. 13, at 8 p.m.
Submitted by Keith Jones, Scottsdale Healthcare
Photos by Eight,, Arizona PBS
