We asked Dr. Lou Keppler, orthopedic surgeon and co-medical director of the Spine and Orthopedic Institute, what he thought of the anterior (entering the hip joint from the front of the thigh) versus the more traditional posterior (entering the hip joint from the back of the thigh) featured in the NPR report.

Dr. Keppler believes that the anterior approach isn’t that novel in terms of being less invasive for patients. Instead, he shared with us a newer procedure called the Super path Hip Replacement.

“I just spent Monday in Memphis performing three hip replacements using this new technique,” said Dr. Keppler. “Pioneered by Dr. Jimmy Chow of Phoenix, Arizona, it is a much less invasive procedure because you can perform the total hip without dislocation of the joint.”

He’s excited to bring this novel approach to patients at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

“This is really a natural extension of the kinds of less invasive techniques we are pioneering here at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center,” said Dr. Keppler, who has performed more than 2,000 hip replacement procedures.

“The Superpath technique results in less muscle injury and less bleeding than the typical posterior or anterior approach. It could evolve to become the first hip replacement surgery performed as an outpatient procedure.”