CHICAGO, Ill. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — The future is now. Artificial intelligence has allowed physicians to receive better training and diagnose diseases in early stages. Now it’s newest use can give patients more control over their surgery outcomes. Hip surgery outcomes
For 33-year-old Meredith Goode, running is her passion.
Meredith said “I have done a ton of half marathons and marathons. I was into ultra-running, super into triathlons.” But when she was training for a hundred-mile race, she noticed something didn’t feel right. She said, “I was just experiencing some groin pain and some really shooting pain down my left leg and into my back.”
An MRI revealed it was a labral tear, which is an injury to the tissue that holds the ball and socket parts of the hip together.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Shane Nho from Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center explains “The thing that bothers most patients the most is they can’t do the activities that they typically do.”
Doctor Nho recommended Goode have hip surgery and before the surgery he was able to predict the likelihood Goode would be able to get back to her level of fitness after surgery by using a machine learning algorithm. Doctor Nho and his team based the algorithm on a database with information collected from patients before and after surgery that contains age, surgical history, level of activity and the patient’s reported outcomes.
Doctor Nho says, “Having this data and this algorithm, we’re able to basically calculate it to give the patient a percent of likelihood of achieving a significant improvement in terms of overall outcomes.”
Having that information placed Goode’s mind at ease. She says “I wasn’t sure if the surgery would kind of impact what I had been doing, would impact my strength. Knowing his confidence gave me more confidence that it would be a success.”
And it was. Goode was pain-free and running six months after surgery. A year later, she was ready to run again in marathons. Using AI to go the distance.
Right now, this algorithm is only applicable to a certain type of hip surgery, which is hip arthroscopy. However, Dr Nho says he is looking to roll the algorithm out in other procedures.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor and Videographer
USING AI TO PREDICT HIP SURGERY OUTCOMES
REPORT #2965
BACKGROUND: Labral tears are an injury of the hip labrum. A tough crescent-shaped cartilage that lines the rim of the hip socket. This is in the pelvic bone. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint, where the head of the femur for the ball part and the acetabulum forms the socket. These two areas are covered in a smooth cartilage and the labral cartilage is a specialized piece that runs along the rim to provide a suctional seal and stability to the joint. Labral tear in the hip has no signs or symptoms that are very noticeable, but here are some things that may indicate that a tear is present: pain in the hip or groin that can be made worse by standing for long periods of time, sitting, or athletic activity. A clicking, locking, or catching sensation in the hip joint, and a stiffness or a limited range of motion in the hip joint area. A doctor should be seen if any of these indicators last more than six weeks.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hip-labral-tear/symptoms-causes/syc-20354873, https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_labral-tears-hip.asp)
CAUSES: Some causes of a labral tear are trauma, an injury or dislocation to the hip joint which can occur during things such as car accidents or sporting event accidents. Some are born with structural issues in the hip joint area that can cause wear and tear on the joint itself. Another cause is repetitive motions, sport-related and other physical activities can lead to joint wear because of sudden twisting or pivoting motions. Other conditions that might be susceptible to labral tears are hip impingement, which is a condition where there is an abnormal contact between the ball and the socket of the hip. This condition is due to a deformity of the femoral head or the acetabulum. Osteoarthritis of the hip is a condition in which there is a degeneration of the cartilage which can lead to bone-on-bone contact.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hip-labral-tear/symptoms-causes/syc-20354873, https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_labral-tears-hip.asp)
DIAGNOSIS AND TRETAMENT: Labral tears have been found to be difficult to diagnose, but when it is found the doctors will order imaging test such as X-Rays or an MRI to confirm their theory. The reason why it is misdiagnosed or missed is because there are many muscles and other structures that are around that joint. They are often misdiagnosed as groin strains. This condition of the labral tear is treated through physical therapy or hip surgery, in which the doctor finds that you have a severe tear and can recommend that they either remove the injured labrum or reattach it. Either treatment can take up to six weeks of recovery, and athletes can return to their sport in two to six months.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hip-labral-tear/symptoms-causes/syc-20354873)
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Ann Pitcher
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