Jiffy Knee
Dr. Hester is a certified Jiffy Knee surgeon — an innovative muscle sparing knee replacement program designed for a faster, more streamlined recovery. Dr. Hester is the only surgeon in East Texas that offers the Jiffy Knee. He not only utilizes this minimally traumatic approach to knee replacement but combines it with the incredible precision of MAKO robotic assistance. This combination proves to be a powerful way to get you moving and back to a full active lifestyle in a less painful, more efficient manner and with long lasting results provided by the MAKO robotic technology and Stryker total knee implants.
Jiffy Knee + Robotics = Minimally Traumatic + Advanced Precision
The traditional way of performing a total knee replacement is through what is called a medial parapatellar approach. This is usually a straight midline incision on the skin followed by a cut directly through the quadriceps tendon (detaching the quad muscle) to access the knee joint. This leads to significantly more trauma to the soft tissues and thus makes the initial recovery more difficult (more pain, more stiffness, more stretching of the quadriceps repair when you bend your knee during recovery).
In the Jiffy Knee approach, the incision is performed more to the medial side of the knee (medial = inside) instead of straight midline. Then the approach to the knee is under the quad instead of right THROUGH it. This allows full access to the knee joint without having to cut through the quad muscle or detach the quad muscle from the quad tendon. It leads to significant reduction in postop pain, stiffness, and earlier return of quad function compared to traditional approach. In addition to doing your knee replacement using the minimally traumatic Jiffy Knee approach, Dr. Hester uses robotic assistance to fine tune the position and placement of the knee replacement components. This helps to balance the knee correctly and fit the implants precisely to your individual anatomy. The robotic system he uses is called MAKO.