The best care starts with getting your questions answered. When our patients show up to surgery knowing what to expect, the path to recovery has the best possible starting line.
Our team has compiled resources and answers to common questions about surgery, scheduling, insurance and coverage, post-operative care and nutrition, and more. If you have other questions, please call our office at 312-432-2517.
With 8 years in practice, Dr. Karas and his dedicated surgical team have consistently performed approximately 1,000 surgical procedures annually. In 2025 alone, Dr. Karas performed over 600 knee replacements and over 300 hip replacements — approximately 8 times the national average for knee replacements and 6 times the national average for hip replacements, based on American Joint Replacement Registry reporting-surgeon averages.
Patient safety is our highest priority. Over the past two years, Dr. Karas has maintained an overall complication rate of less than 1% for primary hip or knee replacement.
We are proud to report a patient satisfaction rate exceeding 90%. Our goal is to help every patient regain mobility, reduce pain, and return to the activities they enjoy.
Our practice combines high-volume surgical experience, minimally invasive techniques, robotic-assisted technology, and personalized patient care. From the initial consultation through postoperative recovery, our dedicated team supports patients at every stage of their surgical journey. Learn more about how Dr. Karas approaches knee replacement surgery and hip replacement surgery.
Dr. Karas utilizes a robotic assisted approach to hip replacements called the STAR approach, short for Superior Transverse Anatomic Reconstruction. This is a cutting edge, posterior-based approach that combines the minimally invasive, muscle-sparing aspect of the anterior approach with the safety profile of the posterior approach. The surgery is performed through an incision that is approximately 4-6 inches at the upper-back portion of the hip. Instead of cutting through several of the muscles and tendons around the hip, Dr. Karas works between and around them, preserving important structures, particularly the piriformis, and then repairs the joint capsule and soft tissues anatomically at the end of the surgery. This allows for a rapid recovery, while also significantly reducing the risk of complications such as fracture and permanent nerve damage. Dr. Karas explains more about his approach to hip replacement here.
At your consult appointment, Dr. Karas and his team will perform a comprehensive evaluation that includes discussions regarding your symptoms, interpretation of x-rays, and if needed, further diagnostic imaging studies. This will all be used to determine if you are a candidate for a partial knee replacement, or if you are better suited for a total knee replacement. In general, patients who are eligible for partial knee replacements demonstrate signs of arthritis localized to one of the three compartments of the knee and meet certain criteria based on additional past medical history factors.
Dr. Karas performs all primary replacement surgeries in a minimally invasive manner. We respect all soft tissue anatomy including structures typically cut in a traditional type of surgery and repair all anatomical structures in a way that allows for rapid healing.
Dr. Karas is doing the surgery. The robot is used to assist with cuts and placement, personalized to your anatomy.
Your surgery itself takes approximately 40-50 minutes, on average. The total amount of time that you are in the operating room is typically 90 minutes-2 hours.
On average, the incision is about 5 inches in length. This also may depend on the body habitus of the patient and the quality of their skin.
A minimally invasive (MIS) knee refers to a broad category of minimally invasive approaches to knee surgery. A Jiffy knee is the MIS knee that Dr. Karas and his partners at Rush have been using for decades with a marketing package.
Our knee implants are made of a combination of a metal alloy with a polyethylene liner. Our hip implants are made of titanium, ceramic, and a polyethylene liner.