EDGE.”

from Healthy Living April 2018

A SUITE PLACE FOR independent living

We asked both physicians about staying abreast of the latest technologies as they apply to orthopedics. How do they stay out in front of it all? And what are some of the exciting new things they are involved in?

“Staying on top of the latest technologies is a big deal in ortho and it is a big deal here,” says Dr. Cook. “Shoulders and sports injuries are my areas. I love shoulders. We do reverse total shoulder operations here, which is one of the latest things. Dr. Williams can speak to some of the newer technologies in his area.”

“We go to conferences, of course,” says Dr. Williams. “Review all the literature. Academic medicine is something I am very interested in and was involved in for many years. I directed the total joint program at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia for seven years. I taught residents there and when you teach residents, you need to be on top of what’s happening in the ﬁeld.

“Groundbreaking developments in my specialties—knees and hips—involve completely custom, individualized

THE TOTAL PATIENT.

The differences Advanced Orthopedics Institute offers its patients are numerous and can get very speciﬁc and complicated for every individual case. But it all really comes back to the original philosophy both physicians saw in one another before AOI was even a consideration— the holistic approach.

joint replacements. Traditionally, you would take a joint replacement, say a hip, that is designed with certain rotation and size and shape values for the ‘average normal hip.’ Now we can create a joint replacement for each individual with the use of multiple CAT scans in different poses, 3-D printing and fabrication and sophisticated software. That new, replacement joint will ﬁt and work better than any other because its ‘normal’ is not an average but it is truly the patient’s normal.”

Both Dr. Cook and Dr. Williams are very excited about the possibilities with stem cells, another new and developing area in orthopedics.

According to Dr.

Cook, “I believe stem cells are the future of ortho. With them, we are able to effect a biological change, which is very different from surgical intervention.”

“The thing with stem cells is you have to be very selective,” says Dr. Williams. “Where you get the stem cells. There are placental stem cells. Amniotic tissue stem cells. Some doctors aspirate from a patient’s own tissues. But think about it, if you have someone 60 to 65 years old and you try to use their cells, why use those old cells? We’ve had 75 percent to 80 percent success with our stem cell procedures because we are very careful about the cells we use and where we get them.”

“We get involved in our patients’ lives,” says Dr. Williams. “Every little thing matters. If you tell me you have a knee or a back problem and I ﬁnd out something about your work, your lifestyle or your habits, I don’t just treat your back problem. I try to treat everything surrounding your life that might be adding to your problem.”

“We try to maximize the conservative options first. Always,” says Dr. Cook. “And there are lifestyle changes, antiinflammatories, cortisone injections, a lot of options. Only if those fail, do we then move on to more aggressive treatments. But always, our goal is not to just fix the orthopedic problem but ultimately, to improve our patient’s quality of life.”

DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT...

“I had rotator cuff surgery with Dr. Cook, and I knew quite a few people who went to him and were happy with the results. He’s an excellent doctor, and this group for therapy is really good. I’m very impressed with the group. Everyone at Advanced Orthopedics are professional, knowledgeable in their ﬁeld, and they also interact like a loving family. It’s very pleasant even when you’re going through a rough time of being in pain and stretching (in rehab), and yet the atmosphere is great. You know you’re in good hands.”

—JULI TOMLINSON

HERE’S WHAT OUR PATIENTS HAVE TO SAY.

“I doctor who wanted to perform surgery, and didn’t feel good about it, so I went to Dr. Williams for a second opinion about my knees. He strongly suggested for me to just do physical therapy instead of surgery, and it has been working great! I found the office extremely caring, knowledgeable, and competent. So far, it’s looking pretty good. It doesn’t look like I need surgery because I have been very successful with physical therapy at his office, where they have a section for physical therapy. It was a very good friend of mine who referred Dr. Williams; she was very happy with him and his office, too!” to another doctor who wanted to perform surgery, and didn’t feel good it, so I went to Dr. Williams for a second opinion about my knees. He strongly suggested for me to just do physical therapy instead of surgery, and it has been working great! I found the office extremely caring, knowledgeable, competent. So far, it’s looking pretty good. It doesn’t look like I need surgery because I have been very successful physical therapy at his office, where they have a section for physical therapy. It was a very good friend of mine referred Dr. Williams; she was very happy with him and his office, too!”