Thomas V. King, MD, pioneered Portsmouth, N.H.-based The Knee Hip and Shoulder Center's Alignment of Vital Assets to Accelerate Recovery program for same-day joint replacement surgeries.
Three things to know:
1. AVATAR is a care pathway unique to The Knee, Hip and Shoulder Center. It includes patient education, preparation for surgery, pre-rehabilitation, surgical stress response management, comprehensive pain management, selected physical therapy and careful monitoring of the patient postoperatively, which is called navigation.
2. According to Dr. King, "Until recently, we did not have the tools to do this. Now it is amazing to see what patients can accomplish with our AVATAR program. We are seeing patients achieve in three weeks what used to take three months."
3. Dr. King is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at the center.