Hip & Knee Replacement Service
Our Hip and Knee Replacement surgeons specialize in innovative approaches to total hip replacement and total knee replacement using a variety of minimally invasive techniques and new materials developed at Mass General Hospital.
Setting the Standard for Orthopaedic Excellence
The Hip & Knee Replacement Service delivers:
- Compassionate, patient-centered care delivered by renowned faculty
- Latest surgical techniques developed in our world-leading laboratories
- Experts in joint arthritis and replacements
What to Expect
At your appointment, you can expect:
- A thorough evaluation and discussion with our specialists
- Review of x-rays, MRIs and any additional records
- An in-depth conversation covering treatment options
- Customized treatment to get you back to a pain-free, active lifestyle
- Follow-up to monitor your recovery and rehabilitation
If you and your doctor decide that surgery is your best treatment option, read more about what to expect.
Patient Education
Patient education materials available on our online portal – Aches & Joints.
The Hip & Knee Replacement Service has been designated a Blue Distinction Center by Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The distinction is given to medical facilities that have met evidence-based criteria, demonstrated consistent, reliable care and achieved better outcomes.
Center for Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Replacement
The Mass General Center for Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Replacement provides comprehensive clinic care for patients by formulating customized treatments by integrating state-of-the-art testing and analyses. Our doctors and scientist teams are specifically trained in issues specific to metal-on-metal implants and have won international awards for their work.
Our Doctors
- Harry Rubash, MD
Chief, Orthopaedic Surgery - Andrew Freiberg, MD
Chief, Hip & Knee Replacement - Hany Bedair, MD
- Dennis Burke, MD
- Young-Min Kwon, MD, PhD
- David Lhowe, MD
- Henrik Malchau, MD, PhD
- Joseph McCarthy, MD
- John Siliski, MD
- William Tomford, MD
- Mark Vrahas, MD
Aches & Joints
Our peer-reviewed online portal provides you with an objective overview of musculoskeletal topics.
About the Hip & Knee Replacement Service
The first reconstructive service in the United States, our program has a rich history of breaking new ground in performing hip and knee replacements.
Our hip and knee replacement surgeons perform thousands of hip and knee replacement surgeries per year.
World Renowned Physicians
Patients choose our service because we treat the most complex hip and knee problems with novel therapies and leading-edge technologies. When surgery is the only treatment option, it will be performed by one of the most capable and experienced specialists in the field.
A compelling reason to seek treatment at the Mass General is our interdisciplinary team approach and world-class specialists throughout the hospital.
Active Research Efforts
For more than a century, our joint replacement service has led the way in improving surgical techniques and advancing the science of hip and knee reconstructive surgery.
Our research is defined by a natural collaboration among physicians, biologists and material scientists that makes our clinical practice and laboratory work inseparable.
Some of the breakthroughs resulting from our research activities include:
- Development of cross-linked polyethylene, a durable bearing for artificial joints used around the globe
- Innovative biomaterials used in place of artificial materials in implants
- Pioneering work using anticoagulants to prevent blood clots
Below is information about some of the other conditions we treat.
Hip Arthritis: Treatment options
The treatment of arthritis of the hip is usually divided into non-operative and operative treatments. In most cases, non-operative treatments are exhausted before operative measures are considered.
Knee Arthritis: Treatment options
As in other joints of the body, arthritis of the knee is caused by break down of the cartilage at the end of the bones, in this case the ends of the femur and tibia, and underneath the kneecap.
Arthritis
Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases are characterized by pain, swelling, and limited movement in joints and connective tissues in the body.
Avascular Necrosis
Avascular necrosis is a disease that may cause bone or joint collapse as a result of loss of blood supply to the bone due to injury or other causes (such as long-term use of certain medications).
Hip Fracture
A hip fracture is a break in the femur (thigh bone) of the hip joint.
Hip Problems
The following are some of the most common hip problems: arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic arthritis, avascular necrosis, bursitis, and hip pointer.
Infectious Arthritis
Infectious arthritis is an infection in the joint (synovial) fluid and joint tissues.
Knee Pain and Problems
Many knee problems are a result of the aging process and continual wear and stress on the knee joint (i.e., arthritis). Other knee problems are a result of an injury or a sudden movement that strains the knee.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a chronic, degenerative, joint disease characterized by the breakdown of joint cartilage and adjacent bone in the neck, lower back, knees, hips and/or fingers.
Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is a form of arthritis associated with psoriasis. The disease is similar to rheumatoid arthritis in symptoms, characterized by joint inflammation.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic, autoimmune disease, is the most crippling form of arthritis and affects approximately 2.1 million Americans.
The following related clinical trials and research studies are currently seeking participants at Massachusetts General Hospital. Search for clinical trials and studies in another area of interest.
Recent Awards and Honors
Charles Bragdon, PhD, in collaboration with Harry Rubash, MD, Young-Min Kwon, MD, PhD, William Harris, MD, Henrik Malchau, MD, PhD, Michael Doerner, BS, & Bryan Jarrett, BS, was awarded the 2012 Hip Society Charnley Award for his work Clinical Multi-center Studies of the Wear Performance of Highly Crosslinked Remelted Polyethylene in THR. The Charnley Award is given for innovative research, either clinical or basic, which focuses on important advances in the management of hip disorders. See an image of the award.
Dr. Young-Min Kwon was awarded the Kappa Delta Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgons in February 2011 for his work, Evidence-Based Approach in Understanding ‘Pseudotumors’ in Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements. Since their inception in 1947, the Kappa Delta Awards are bestowed by the Academy for outstanding research in Orthopaedic surgery that is of the highest significance and impact. It is the highest award in Orthopaedic research in the nation. Read more about Dr. Kwon's Kappa Delta Award.
Dr. Henrik Malchau was awarded the prestigious 2010 The John Charnley Award from the Hip Society for his work, Cup Positioning at a Tertiary Hospital: Risk Factors for Malpositioning. The Charnley Award is given for innovative research, either clinical or basic, which focuses on important advances in the management of hip disorders. See an image of the award.
Dr. Hany Bedair and his research colleagues won the 2010 Mark Coventry Award from the Knee Society for their work, Diagnosis of Early Post-Operative Infection following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: The Utility of Synovial Fluid Cell Count and Differential.
Hip Procedure Grows Popular Despite Doubt
NPR 03.19.2012 - When Susy Mansfield needed a hip replacement in 2009, her orthopedic surgeon chose a relatively new and untested kind of artificial hip made entirely of metal.
Hip Procedure Grows Popular Despite Doubt
New York Times 11.15.2011 - It is one of the most popular operations in sports medicine. It comes in various forms, all with the same name: Hip impingement or bone shaving surgery. World-renowned athletes have had the operation — the Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez had it about two years ago and the sprinter Tyson Gay had it last summer.
Remedy Is Elusive as Metallic Hips Fail at a Fast Rate
New York Times 09.30.2011 - As surgeons here sliced through tissue surrounding a failed artificial hip in a 53-year-old man, they discovered what looked like a biological dead zone. There were matted strands of tissue stained gray and black; a large strip of muscle near the hip no longer contracted.
In Medicine, New Isn't Always Improved
New York Times 06.25.2011 - It is an American impulse to covet the new and improved — whether it’s a faster computer, a smarter cellphone or a more fuel-efficient car. And in medicine, too, new drugs, devices and procedures have advanced patient care.
Concerns Over ‘Metal on Metal’ Hip Implants
New York Times 03.03.2011 - Some of the nation’s leading orthopedic surgeons have reduced or stopped use of a popular category of artificial hips amid concerns that the devices are causing severe tissue and bone damage in some patients, often requiring replacement surgery within a year or two.
Trouble Found In Some Hip Replacements
The Boston Channel 07.28.2010 - Doctors have detected a pattern of problems in a small percentage of patients with metal-on-metal joint replacements.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Mass General Researchers Put Their Stamp on Joint Arthroplasty
Marking the 10 year anniversary of the first clinical use of highly cross-linked polyethylene
MGPO physicians honored
MGH Hotline 05.29.09 The recipients of the Brian A. McGovern, MD, Award for Clinical Excellence were announced May 16 at the MGPO Annual Physician Recognition Dinner.
Recognizing an MGH innovator
MGH Hotline 11.20.09 In 1970, William Harris, MD, DSC, director emeritus of the MGH Harris Biomaterials and Biome-chanics Laboratory, established the Advances in Arthroplasty course
Blue Cross and Blue Shield names MGH a Blue Distinction Center
MGH Hotline 4.30.10 THE MGH has been designated a Blue Distinction Center for both spine surgery and knee and hip replacement by Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Mass General Hospital Physicians make “The List”
Boston Magazine recognizes 134 MGH physicians on its annual list of top doctors in the Boston area.
In General: Jain and Kwon
MGH Hotline 02.11.11 In General awards and honors
41st Annual Advances in Arthroplasty Course: Optimizing Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Using Evidence-Based Medicine
41st Annual Advances in Arthroplasty Course: Optimizing Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Using Evidence-Based Medicine - Early Intervention to Complex Reconstructions
Recent Awards and Honors
Charles Bragdon, PhD, in collaboration with Harry Rubash, MD, Young-Min Kwon, MD, PhD, William Harris, MD, Henrik Malchau, MD, PhD, Michael Doerner, BS, & Bryan Jarrett, BS, was awarded the 2012 Hip Society Charnley Award for his work Clinical Multi-center Studies of the Wear Performance of Highly Crosslinked Remelted Polyethylene in THR. The Charnley Award is given for innovative research, either clinical or basic, which focuses on important advances in the management of hip disorders. See an image of the award.
Dr. Young-Min Kwon was awarded the Kappa Delta Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgons in February 2011 for his work, Evidence-Based Approach in Understanding ‘Pseudotumors’ in Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements. Since their inception in 1947, the Kappa Delta Awards are bestowed by the Academy for outstanding research in Orthopaedic surgery that is of the highest significance and impact. It is the highest award in Orthopaedic research in the nation. Read more about Dr. Kwon's Kappa Delta Award.
Dr. Henrik Malchau was awarded the prestigious 2010 The John Charnley Award from the Hip Society for his work, Cup Positioning at a Tertiary Hospital: Risk Factors for Malpositioning. The Charnley Award is given for innovative research, either clinical or basic, which focuses on important advances in the management of hip disorders. See an image of the award.
Dr. Hany Bedair and his research colleagues won the 2010 Mark Coventry Award from the Knee Society for their work, Diagnosis of Early Post-Operative Infection following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: The Utility of Synovial Fluid Cell Count and Differential.
Hip Procedure Grows Popular Despite Doubt
NPR 03.19.2012 - When Susy Mansfield needed a hip replacement in 2009, her orthopedic surgeon chose a relatively new and untested kind of artificial hip made entirely of metal.
Hip Procedure Grows Popular Despite Doubt
New York Times 11.15.2011 - It is one of the most popular operations in sports medicine. It comes in various forms, all with the same name: Hip impingement or bone shaving surgery. World-renowned athletes have had the operation — the Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez had it about two years ago and the sprinter Tyson Gay had it last summer.
Remedy Is Elusive as Metallic Hips Fail at a Fast Rate
New York Times 09.30.2011 - As surgeons here sliced through tissue surrounding a failed artificial hip in a 53-year-old man, they discovered what looked like a biological dead zone. There were matted strands of tissue stained gray and black; a large strip of muscle near the hip no longer contracted.
In Medicine, New Isn't Always Improved
New York Times 06.25.2011 - It is an American impulse to covet the new and improved — whether it’s a faster computer, a smarter cellphone or a more fuel-efficient car. And in medicine, too, new drugs, devices and procedures have advanced patient care.
Concerns Over ‘Metal on Metal’ Hip Implants
New York Times 03.03.2011 - Some of the nation’s leading orthopedic surgeons have reduced or stopped use of a popular category of artificial hips amid concerns that the devices are causing severe tissue and bone damage in some patients, often requiring replacement surgery within a year or two.
Trouble Found In Some Hip Replacements
The Boston Channel 07.28.2010 - Doctors have detected a pattern of problems in a small percentage of patients with metal-on-metal joint replacements.
Meet our Doctors
Meet some of our doctors and staff who are part of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
2011 AOA - Austrian Swiss German (ASG) Traveling Fellows
The Austrian, Swiss, German Traveling Fellowship is a program that was started in 1978 when the Austrian, Swiss and German Orthopaedic Associations sponsored a tour for four young orthopaedic surgeons to travel to Britain, the United States and Canada. In 1984, the American Orthopaedic Association became involved. Now one Austrian, one Swiss and two German orthopaedists tour during odd years, and one Canadian, one British and two American orthopeadists tour during even years.
Dr. Joseph McCarthy for Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Dr. Joseph McCarthy for Newton-Wellesley Hospital
Hip & Knee Replacement Service
Phone: Contact by doctor
Hip & Knee Replacement Service
Phone: Contact by doctor
Hip & Knee Replacement Surgeons
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Harry Rubash, MD |
 |
Andrew Freiberg, MD |
 |
Hany Bedair, MD |
 |
Dennis Burke, MD |
 |
Young-Min Kwon, MD, PhD |
 |
Henrik Malchau, MD, PhD |
 |
Joseph McCarthy, MD |
 |
John Siliski, MD |
 |
William Tomford, MD |
Trauma Surgeons on the Hip & Knee Replacement Team
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Mark Vrahas, MD |
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David Lhowe, MD |
Advanced Practitioners
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Janet Dorrwachter, NP |
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Emily Mulla, NP |
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Lauren Swisher, PA-C |
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Kristin Wood, NP |
