Denis Nam, M.D., who joined Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush on December 1, 2016, has been honored with an award at the recent 2016 Current Concepts in Joint Replacement meeting. His paper, “Patient-Reported Metal Allergy: A Risk Factor for Poor Outcomes After Total Joint Arthroplasty.” The organization honored Dr. Nam with the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation/Current Concepts in Joint Replacement Clinical Practice Award, given to fellows and orthopedic surgeons whose studies focus on healthcare policy, clinical outcomes or translational research and have an immediate impact.
Denis Nam, M.D. Wins Award at CCJR Meeting
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Dr. Nam, a joint replacement specialist, attended Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and completed the Hospital for Special Surgery adult reconstruction and joint replacement fellowship in New York.
Dr. Nam told OTW, “This study assessed the significance of patients who self-report having a metal allergy on outcomes following primary total knee and total hip arthroplasty. While all patients experienced overall improvements in their clinical outcome scores, we found that self-reporting of a metal allergy was associated with having lower clinical outcome scores following total knee arthroplasty and lower mental health scores following total hip arthroplasty compared to patients who do not report a metal allergy. This is despite using implants free of nickel in those patients who reported a metal allergy. As patient satisfaction is closely tied to preoperative expectations, this study should impact how surgeons counsel their patients prior to a total joint arthroplasty.”
“We are honored and grateful for this award as it signifies that the judges believe this investigation to have the potential to affect the clinical practice of total joint arthroplasty surgeons moving forward.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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