Hip & Knee Replacement for Patients in Kāne‘ohe, Hawai‘i

If a move brought you to Kāne‘ohe with a hip or knee that was replaced somewhere else, you may have no surgeon nearby who knows that joint’s history. That alone justifies a fresh look, and so does a recommendation for a total knee when you suspect only part of the knee is worn. Dr. Morton reads the films and scans himself instead of relying on someone else’s report, works through the operative notes and implant labels, examines the joint, and sends you a written assessment with his suggested options, typically within one to two weeks.

Records from the mainland or overseas are welcome. Send the images themselves along with the operative report; you can upload your images (opens in a new tab) ahead of time, and the portal holds them for your visit, though it is not itself a review or an appointment. Scans taken in Hawai‘i can usually be pulled electronically. Nobody will press you to switch surgeons. The second opinion page has a checklist.

When the whole knee is worn, Dr. Morton’s total knee has a few constants. He reaches the joint through the subvastus approach on nearly every patient, going beneath the quadriceps muscle rather than cutting its tendon; very muscular or tight knees, marked deformity, scarring from previous surgery and most revisions are the exceptions. He also skips the tourniquet on every primary knee. Implant position follows your own alignment and ligament balance within published safe-zone limits, and long-term durability data for this personalized method is still building.

Fixation follows your bone. Strong bone on X-ray, confirmed at surgery, gets cementless components; weaker bone gets cemented ones, the option with the longest track record. Your consent covers both. For a Kāne‘ohe commuter, the side matters as well: in an automatic car the right foot works both pedals, which shapes when you can drive again. The knee replacement hub and the fixation section of Dr. Morton’s philosophy page go deeper.

For a hip, Dr. Morton’s standard is the direct anterior approach. Working from the front, he opens the joint capsule and leaves the surrounding muscles attached, and most patients go home without hip precautions. That keeps ordinary moves simple in the early weeks, such as lowering yourself into the passenger seat for the ride back over the Ko‘olau. A different approach can be safer after earlier surgery on that hip, when hardware from a past repair remains, if the hip is markedly deformed, if a large skin fold overhangs the front of it, or after past wound-healing trouble, and he tells you when that applies. A revision may go back through the old scar.

A bikini-line incision is an option when your anatomy allows. Typical components are a titanium socket, a liner of cross-linked polyethylene and, usually, a ceramic ball, held without cement if the bone permits; dual-mobility bearings are kept for higher dislocation risk. Brand preference never drives the choice. The hip replacement overview explains each decision.

A knee is not always worn throughout. A partial knee replaces only the damaged compartment and keeps the ACL, and it may suit you if only that compartment is arthritic, your ACL works, you can still straighten the leg well, any bow-legged or knock-kneed angle is mild and correctable, and the pain has outlasted therapy, medication and injections. Wear in more than one compartment, an ACL that is torn or gone, rheumatoid or another inflammatory arthritis, or a severe deformity steers the choice toward a total knee.

Dr. Morton performs every type, medial, lateral, patellofemoral and bicompartmental, with a 3D plan, robotic guidance, a shorter incision and no tourniquet. A partial carries a somewhat greater lifetime chance of revision, and although converting it to a total is generally easier than revising a failed total, it is still revision surgery. Candidacy is settled by an exam and weight-bearing X-rays rather than age, and both Ala Moana and Kunia can take those X-rays at the visit. See the partial vs total comparison.

When it is used, robotic assistance is part of how Dr. Morton performs the operation, not an extra service. It is billed as standard joint replacement, without a technology fee or any added patient charge, and it does not change Medicare coverage; through VA Community Care, an authorized replacement is authorized the same way whether or not a robot is used. Before surgery he builds a 3D plan. In the operating room the robot carries it out and reports alignment and ligament balance as he works, but it never cuts by itself or makes a choice. Every step is his.

The system used on O‘ahu depends on your case and hospital; Queen’s uses ROSA®, planned from standard X-rays without a CT scan. Dr. Morton is certified on ROSA, Mako, CORI and VELYS, and in 2022 he became the first surgeon in Hawai‘i to perform a robotic-assisted total hip replacement. Patients call him “The Robot Doc.” See ROSA robotic joint replacement and his training and background.

A knee or hip replaced before you moved to Kāne‘ohe gets the same careful workup as any other. Dr. Morton’s Revision Hip & Knee Clinic works through a standard set of checks: pin down the implant’s model, size and recall history; compare fresh X-rays with old ones; check ESR and CRP; aspirate and culture the joint if infection is suspected; and order metal-artifact-reduction imaging, MRI or CT, if questions linger. Nothing is revised without a reason, and some painful joints turn out to need something other than surgery.

If an operation is needed, bone deficits are filled with porous augments, cones or sleeves and revision stems, and an unstable knee can be steadied with more constrained components. Partial knees have failure modes of their own: arthritis advancing in another compartment, or a component working loose. Expect a hospital revision, at Queen’s for most patients and Castle for some, followed by a short inpatient stay. See revision knee replacement.

Your clinic can follow your route. The Likelike Highway and H-3 both lead to town and the Ala Moana clinic, which has parking in its building. The West O‘ahu clinic sits in the Kunia Shopping Center with free parking and easy H-1/H-2 access, and handles consultations, imaging, injections and follow-ups; Wiki Wiki Orthopedics, a walk-in orthopedic urgent care, is in the same center (call to confirm that day’s hours). Some visits and between-visit questions are handled with Justin Grandalen, PA-C, who works alongside Dr. Morton, and you can always ask to see Dr. Morton himself.

Choosing the surgical venue is a joint decision based on the procedure, your health and your coverage. Castle in Kailua is nearest; revisions, complex cases and those with higher medical risk generally go to The Queen’s Medical Center. To book, call (808) 439-6201 or tap Schedule; new patients are usually seen within one to two weeks.

Most of your recovery happens in your own house. Most people are up with a walker on surgery day and use it through the first couple of weeks before a cane takes over as balance returns. Therapy starts a day or two after you get home, either in the house or at a clinic. Pick a licensed therapist anywhere convenient, in Kāne‘ohe or up Kamehameha Highway; the office can recommend names and passes Dr. Morton’s written protocols along, and the Honolulu and Kunia clinics have therapists in-house.

Line up a driver over the Ko‘olau for the first follow-up, about a week after surgery. Later wound and progress checks can be done over Doximity video: a texted link opens the call on your phone, iPhone or Android. Aspirin is the usual clot prevention, taken for several weeks (around the first month after a knee) exactly as prescribed. After that, a yearly X-ray keeps watch on the implant through implant surveillance.