Jean-Benoit Houle, M.D.

Dr. Ben Houle specializes in Sports Medicine and treatment of the injured athlete. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Houle joined the Orthopaedic Center of Southern Illinois in 1998 following the completion of a Fellowship in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgery at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Dr. Houle is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM). He has participated in numerous Orthopaedic research projects and publications.

Dr. Houle devotes his practice to joint replacement and visco-supplementation, as well as treatment of injured athletes and the promotion of safety in sporting activities.He assisted in the development of the Sports Medicine Clinic at the Center and has served as a team physician for the Mt.Vernon Township High School.

In addition to total joint replacement, a procedure that is performed on select patients prior to knee replacement is called IOVERA. IOVERA is a safe, innovative pain relief treatment administered to a patient's knee prior to having total knee replacement surgery. It uses extreme cold to stop nerves from sending pain signals to your brain. The effect is immediate and can last up to 90 days.

The IOVERA system is a handheld device that lets your treating provider apply just the right amount of extreme cold to targeted nerves in the leg - the ones causing pain. This process delivers immediate pain relief in the time it takes for a routine office visit, and does not cause pain. IOVERA does not contain medicine, is safe, and does not destroy any surrounding tissue.

Dr. Houle has interest in all knee surgeries; ACL Reconstruction, allograft meniscus, meniscus tears, cartilage transplantation, visco-supplementation, cartilage sparing surgery, as well as knee replacement and hip replacement surgeries. He has clinics at the Mt.Vernon and Nashville locations. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Houle, please click here.

Dr. Ben Houle is one of few physicians in Illinois offering this new knee replacement procedure from VERILAST which is expected to provide wear performance for 30 years of actual use under typical conditions.

What is VERILAST Knee Technology?

VERILAST Technology is a pairing of materials that is shown in laboratory testing to more than double the wear performance of the Smith & Nephew LEGION™ cruciate retaining (CR) knee replacement.

·It is the combination of Smith & Nephew’s award-winning OXINIUM™ metal alloy and a “cross-linked” plastic component (XLPE).

·VERILAST is a knee replacement technology that uses advanced, low-friction surfaces for both sides of the knee joint.

During this testing, the implants were subjected to 45 million cycles, or steps, on a wear simulator.
Forty-five million cycles is equivalent to 30 years of an active adult’s life under typical conditions.

Each cycle loaded the knee implants with 585 pounds of pressure, or an industry standard of 3.2 times the typical body weight of a knee replacement patient (185 pounds). During the same test, a similar knee made from conventional materials—cobalt chrome and standard plastic—were submitted to wear testing, as well.

The results of the testing were remarkable.

98% Wear Reduction: After 5 million cycles, the LEGION CR Knee with VERILAST Knee Technology reduced 98% of the wear that was generated by the other, traditional implant materials.

81% Wear Reduction: When the LEGION CR Knee with VERILAST Knee Technology kept “walking” out to 45 million cycles, it still reduced 81% of the wear generated by the conventional material knee implant that was stopped after the first 5 million cycles.

About VERILAST Knee Technology

Based on laboratory wear simulation testing, the LEGION◊ Primary Knee System with VERILAST Technology is expected to provide wear performance sufficient for 30 years of actual use under typical conditions.

The results of laboratory wear simulation testing have not been proven to predict actual joint durability and performance in people. A reduction in wear alone may not result in improved joint durability and performance because other factors, such as bone structure, can affect joint durability and performance and cause medical conditions that may result in the need for additional surgery. These other factors were not studied as part of the testing.

What is OXINIUM™ (Oxidized Zirconium) material?

OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium, a tough, smooth metal whose ceramic surface is 4,900 times more abrasion resistant than cobalt chrome. The ceramic surface is created through a manufacturing process where oxygen is naturally diffused into the zirconium metal as it is heated in air. When the metal is saturated with oxygen, the surface transforms from a metal to a ceramic. This is a transformation of the original metal surface into a ceramic and not an externally applied coating.

OXINIUM is a hypoallergenic implant material available for femoral-side knee implants. Other implant materials (primarily cobalt chrome) contain nickel and chromium, two metals associated with metal allergy. If patients have an allergic reaction to their cobalt chrome knee implant, it may have to be surgically removed.

OXINIUM is more than 20% lighter than a same-sized implant made from cobalt chrome—the other metal from which knee implants can be made.

OXINIUM received the 2005 ASM International Engineering Materials Award for its innovative design.

Since 2001, more than 200,000 OXINIUM knee implants have been implanted worldwide.