Students to watch live knee replacement

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Neighbors | Submitted.MCCTC students Alyssa Roth of Austintown (left) and Beverly Payne of Poland made replicas of the human knee to see how it works.Students in the Health Tech Prep and Medical Occupations program created knee models to see how they work before watching a live knee replacement surgery via video conference.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Jasmine Jennings of Austintown (left) hammers and Naja Thomas of Campbell assists while making a replica of a knee during class at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.Health Tech Prep and Medical Occupations students reviewed x-rays of knees and built knee models with wood and nails before watching a knee replacement surgery.

Hammers, nails and blocks of wood normally wouldn’t be associated with the medical field, but the students at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center are using these pieces to replicate the human knee to see how it works.

Using these pieces, students in the Health Tech Prep and Medical Occupations program created knee models to learn more about the alignment and precision that goes into a human knee, and the crucial role those elements play in knee surgery.

The students were even able to practice sutures on the knee models using a fine thread.

The project also simulated a real medical environment where students had to work with small, precise movements all while wearing medical gloves.

This class project was in preparation for a live video conference the following day of a knee replacement surgery.

Biotechnology students also sat in on the live conference.

During the 90-minute conference, students watched, alongside other participating schools, the surgeons and medical professionals perform a live total knee replacement in the operating room.

Prior to the video conference, the classes also reviewed X-rays to learn how to identify common knee problems and learned of alternative treatment options.

The video conference, models and X-rays gave students a glimpse into their future careers in the medical profession.