Before Pauline Barker’s knee replacement surgery in January, the 66-year-old retired elementary school teacher had stopped doing many of the things she loved, such as taking her rambunctious dog Barclay for walks in her south-Springfield neighborhood, because the arthritic pain in her knee had become unbearable.

“I taught school for 37 years and was on my feet a lot. I started having problems with my right knee about eight or nine years ago and it got worse and worse as time went on. Eventually, I was walking with a crutch and knew that I needed surgery,” Barker says. “Now the pain is gone and I’m doing everything I was doing before, like shopping, traveling and walking Barclay.”

Thanks to a minimally invasive approach to knee replacement surgery, Barker was walking without crutches or a walker within a week after her surgery.

“A friend loaned me a walker to use after I came home from the hospital, and I only used it a few times,” Barker says. “I didn’t even use it when I went to my first post-surgery checkup with Dr. Nachtigal.”

St. John’s orthopedist Michael Nachtigal, M.D., performed Barker’s surgery. He says the minimally invasive approach to total knee replacement surgery involves new techniques and equipment that minimize the interruption and dissection of neurovascular tissues, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Which results in a shorter hospital stay and recovery time for patients.

“Patients who have this procedure also have less pain, require less medication, spend less time on crutches post-op and have a smaller scar because of the smaller incision,” Dr. Nachtigal says. “The key to this surgery being minimally invasive is not necessarily the smaller incision, but the reduced trauma to the tissues around the knee.”

Approximately 300,000 total knee replacement surgeries are performed each year in the United States. Most total knee replacement surgeries are the result of debilitating arthritic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

“We have used this technique at St. John’s since 2003. I’ve performed it in 75 knee replacements,” Dr. Nachtigal says. “The minimally invasive approach will eventually be used in the majority of total knee replacements.”

This approach isn’t appropriate for every total knee replacement patient, however. Dr. Nachtigal adds it may not be available to patients who are obese, have had previous incisions around the knee or have a serious medical condition or severe leg deformities.