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| Craig Loucks, MD |
Craig Loucks, MD
Credentials and Training
Dr. Loucks is a native of Canada and did most of his training in Calgary and Vancouver before relocating to Denver in 2003. He is double boarded with both Canadian (FRCSC) and American (ABOS) Orthopedic Board Certifications. He is fellowship trained in Trauma and has extensive training in Minimally Invasive Hip and Knee Surgery. Over the last 8 years he has developed an extremely busy practice focusing on hip and knee problems in all age groups ranging from young athletes to the elderly. He has lectured at a number of international hip and knee meetings and is frequently asked to serve as an instructor for minimally invasive hip and knee replacement surgery. He and his partner Dr. Greenhow were the first surgeons in the Denver area to perform the AMIS (Anterior Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement Procedure). In addition, they are surgical instructors and product developers for Medacta International. In conjunction with their European colleagues they developed the MyKnee system allowing surgeons to improve accuracy, sizing and alignment while performing knee replacements through less invasive approaches. He also serves on the advisory board of Conformis, a company that focuses on patient-specific partial knee technology, assisting with product development, teaching and clinical instruction.
Dr. Loucks is the past Chairman of Orthopedics at the Medical Center of Aurora and is the Current Chief of Orthopedics and Neurosurgery at Sky Ridge Medical Center. He and Dr. Greenhow are the founding partners of Peak Orthopedics and Spine.
Hip Procedures:
- Hip Arthroscopy
- Hip Impingement Surgery and Labral Repair
- Anterior Minimally Invasive Total Hip Replacement
- Anterior Minimally Invasive Total Hip Revisions
- Complex reconstructive hip surgery
Knee Procedures:
- Knee Arthroscopy: Meniscus repair and transplant; cartilage resurfacing; ACL and ligament reconstructions; cartilage transplants; synovectomies and patella tracking surgery
- Reconstructive joint sparing procedures: osteotomies; cartilage transplant; stem cell transplant; allograft reconstruction; microfracture; and arthrosurface treatment of cartilage defects
- Partial Knee Replacements: Minimally Invasive One and Two-Compartment Partial Replacements; Conformis Patient-Specific partial knee replacements; Makoplasty Robotic assisted partial knee replacements
- Minimally Invasive CT Guided Pre-Navigated Total Knee Replacement (Medacta My Knee)
- Complex Knee Reconstructions and Revision Knee Replacements
Joint Sparing Hip Surgery:
Dr. Loucks has extensive experience with both arthroscopic and Minimally Invasive Anterior Open hip procedures. He has performed a variety of procedures including labral repair, decompressions for impingement, femoral head resurfacings, acetabular rim osteotomies, synovectomies and osteochondroplasties. In addition, microfracture and cartilage transplants have been performed. These less invasive approaches allow outpatient surgical treatment and preserves the native hip joint.
Impingement Surgery:
Femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) is an increasingly prevalent cause of hip pain and premature arthritis. Specialized imaging including an MRI with arthrogram is often required to confirm the diagnosis of impingement. Patients will often have a common constellation of symptoms and findings with an associated labral tear. Typical forms include Cam Type (oval head in round socket) and Pincer Type (sharpened rough edge or opening to socket) but will often be a combination of both anatomic abnormalities. Treatment is tailored to address each patient’s unique anatomy and pathology.
AMIS: Anterior Minimally Invasive Hip Replacement
This unique approach employs a natural muscle plane at the front of the hip to insert a hip prosthesis. Specialized instruments allow Dr. Loucks to perform a Total Hip Replacement without cutting ANY muscles or tendons. As a result, patients have less pain, less blood loss and much faster recovery after surgery. In addition, X-ray guidance is used during surgery to ensure accurate sizing and placement of artificial hip components resulting in an extremely safe and reproducible procedure. He has performed over 1500 procedures to date and frequently instructs and proctors other surgeons who are new to this AMIS technique. Increasing amounts of objective clinical data including gait analysis and an MRI study clearly indicate the superiority of this AMIS approach compared to any other traditional hip approach. Advances in implant technology have resulted in better wear rates and function. The Dual Mobility™ cup from Medacta is a ceramic head in a mobile bearing cross-linked polyethylene insert. It has reduced wear rates because the load is distributed across the 2 surfaces of the mobile bearing. In addition, it provides excellent stability with low dislocation risk because of the captured ceramic head.
MyKnee Total Knee Replacement:
Drs. Loucks and Greenhow are an integral part of an international team of surgeons who have developed the MyKnee system for Medacta. Total Knee Replacement surgery requires accurate bone cuts to ensure proper alignment and functioning of the knee after surgery. Historically, surgeons used intra-operative guides to assist with proper alignment, however, these can be notoriously inaccurate even in the most experienced hands. Modern technology has allowed us to use a 3-D CT based imaging protocol to create “pre-navigated patient specific blocks”. In essence, we create a computer-based model of a patients knee and then determine the perfect size, position and alignment for the knee replacement parts. MyKnee blocks blocks are then produced in Switzerland and shipped over for the surgery. These patient specific blocks are “custom surface road maps” for each individual patients knee. During surgery, we place these blocks on the knee and they accurately determine where we need to place the knee replacement for optimal function. This amazing technology greatly improves our accuracy and significantly shortens operative time for patients. Improved accuracy results in a knee that will function better and last longer.
Partial Knee Replacements:
Advances in technology allow us to selectively replace parts of knees that are arthritic. This is an increasingly common procedure in middle-aged patients who qualify as candidates. Partial knees are less invasive and offer many advantages over total knee replacement. Native ligaments are retained which results in better biomechanics and a more natural functioning knee. Additionally, less bone is removed which improves our ability to perform subsequent surgeries including conversion to a total knee replacement. Careful pre-operative evaluation is necessary to determine whether you are an ideal candidate for one of these procedures. This may include a CT scan with dye in your knee (arthrogram) or possibly a knee arthroscopy.
Professional Organizations
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