Shawnee Mission Medical Center Orthopedics

Serving the Kansas City Community

More than 500 individuals in Kansas City turn to Shawnee Mission Medical Center (SMMC) annually for inpatient orthopedic care.

Kansas City Joint Academy

The Joint Academy provides each joint replacement patient with an experience that is positive and memorable. Developed in collaboration with joint replacement surgeons, the Kansas City Joint Academy focuses on a plan of care tailored to a patient's needs.

Throughout the patient's stay, education is provided through daily newsletters and packets with information about what to expect in the hospital and at home.

Patients undergoing elective hip and knee joint replacements, spinal surgery and those who seek care for fractured hips, legs, shoulders or wrists count on SMMC's Kansas City team of orthopedic experts for care and encouragement on the road to recovery.

Each patient's care is individually coordinated by a multi-disciplinary team that may include an orthopedist physician, an orthopedic surgeon, a member of the nursing team, and physical and occupational therapists. Patients and their loved ones also receive support from social workers, utilization management associates and chaplains.

Joints in Motion Class - Pre-surgery classes in Kansas City

Shawnee Mission Medical Center offers pre-surgery classes to ensure our patients receive the information they need to prepare for surgery and recovery. For information on these classes given in Kansas City, contact the ASK-A-NURSE Resource Center at 913-676-7777.

Minimally Invasive Approach

SMMC was the first hospital in the greater Kansas City area to introduce a new less-invasive approach to hip replacement surgery, known as hip resurfacing,  that allows patients to rehabilitate faster and with less pain.

With this new technique, the surgeon makes two incisions, as small as 1 - 3 inches each, separating the muscles, ligaments and tendons to access the hip joint. Traditional surgery involves a 10 - 12 inch incision and cutting of those tissues.

Ask your physician if you are a candidate for the minimally-invasive approach to hip replacement.