About / My Philosophy
Dr. Eric K. Lee is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hip and knee arthritis treatment and joint reconstruction. He pursued a specialized fellowship in advanced hip and knee replacement at the prestigious Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, where some of today's major joint replacement advances were developed. He has training in less invasive techniques, full and partial replacements, robotics, and custom implants. He trained in a five-year orthopedic surgery program at the University of Michigan during residency. Prior to that, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania medical school, where he also completed a PhD in cancer biology and cellular signaling. Dr. Lee utilizes his dual physician-scientist training to approach clinical problem scientifically, while also listening and focusing on patients’ needs in order to truly practice the art of medicine.
Dr. Lee believes that optimal treatment of orthopedic conditions like hip and knee arthritis is predicated upon effective communication between the physician and patient. As such, he understands that for most patients, surgical hip or knee replacement is a last resort, and will only proceed when both the patient and he himself believe it is in the patient's best interest. Consistent with the philosophy of the Personalized Orthopedics Physicians, he adopts a conservative approach and delivers care in a manner that is safe, effective, and efficient. Ultimately, the therapeutic alignment that patients achieve with Dr. Lee involves patients understanding their diagnosis and treatment options, enabling them to act in their own best interests.
Treatment Philosophy
When deciding upon treatment options for hip pain or knee pain due to arthritis, it is important to attempt the most conservative, least invasive modalities first. Hip/knee replacement surgery is always the last resort when other treatments have failed. Many nonoperative treatments exist. Activity modification, physical therapy, weight loss programs, bracing, assistive devices, pain relievers, and injections may be effective ways to avoid a more invasive operation.
Surgical Treatment of Hip and Knee Arthritis
If all nonoperative options have been exhausted, and joint pain from arthritis is still limiting your quality of life, joint replacement may be the last option. There is no medical cure for severe end-stage arthritis.
Fortunately, surgical treatment of hip and knee arthritis can be definitive. It involves excising the diseased painful ends of the bones at the joint, and replacing them with prosthetic implants, most commonly made of metal and plastic.
The goal of joint replacement surgery is to provide pain relief and to restore a basic functional level for low-impact exercise if other body systems are not limiting factors. The amount of exercise your hip/knee replacement can handle is related to the stress to which the joints are subjected. The more strenuous the demands placed upon a prosthetic implant, the sooner it will wear out. Implants placed in the last 20 years are capable of lasting several decades and appear to be able to withstand even longer periods.
Procedures
Total Hip Replacement
Dr. Lee performs the anterior hip replacement approach, allowing patients a quicker recovery.
He has experience using many different implant systems, including Depuy, Zimmer, Biomet, and Stryker. For the majority of patients, cementless implants are used with bone-preserving constructs where possible.
Total Knee Replacement
He has experience using many different implant systems, including Depuy, Zimmer, Stryker, and Smith & Nephew. He has performed robotic surgeries, including MAKOplasty. He has trained with and is working with some of the original developers of the Conformis custom knee implant.