Meet Tom
Tom, a hardworking man from Chillicothe, Ohio, has always been an active guy. But when severe knee pain made his custodial job difficult and kept him from his hobbies of gardening, carpentry and camping, he knew it was finally time to do something about it.
One morning as he was having coffee and reading the newspaper, Tom learned about a new, minimally invasive orthopaedic procedure called MAKOplasty®, which is ideal for people like Tom who suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee. From what he read, it sounded promising. To find out if he was a candidate for the surgery, Tom scheduled an appointment with orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Matthew Beal at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where the surgeons have more experience than anyone in Ohio at performing MAKOplasty partial knee replacement.
A LESS INVASIVE TREATMENT OPTION
"I’d been putting up with the pain for three or four years."
This was not Tom's first experience with knee surgery. Years before, he had both of his knees scoped two separate times, a procedure that repairs osteoarthritis damage by inserting a small, thin arthroscope into the knee joint. This time, Tom was hoping for a more permanent solution for his recurring knee pain when he went to meet with Dr. Beal. A less invasive surgical treatment option than total knee replacement, MAKOplasty is unique because it damages less bone and promotes faster healing than the traditional approach.
After X-rays and a detailed physical exam, Dr. Beal confirmed Tom's hope and told him he was a good candidate for MAKOplasty, because he had early to mid-stage osteoarthritis that had damaged only the inside compartment of his knee.
While other hospitals recommended a full knee replacement, Tom decided that the less invasive route was the way he wanted to go.
MAKOPLASTY WAS THE BEST CHOICE
"I wish I would have had the partial knee replacement done sooner."
One week later, Tom had MAKOplasty partial knee replacement surgery on his right knee. During the procedure, Dr. Beal used a highly precise robotic arm to carefully resurface only the diseased portion of Tom's knee, sparing his healthy bone and surrounding tissue. Then the surgeon attached an implant that enabled Tom's knee joint to move smoothly and painlessly again.
Tom gave Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center permission to share his surgery through live-tweets and video coverage online. He wanted to help the hospital educate patients and referring physicians about this innovative new treatment option.
One of the biggest benefits of partial knee replacement is that it promotes faster healing than a full knee replacement. This allowed Tom to be up walking around the hospital the morning after his surgery and enabled him to leave the hospital after only two days.
He's Active & Pain-free Again
"Ohio State gave me back a normal life."
Tom is very pleased with his partial knee replacement and recommends it to anyone who's a candidate. In fact, Tom's surgery, physical therapy and recovery went so well, he plans to have his left knee done in the near future. These days, he's back to work and experiencing no pain in his resurfaced right knee. He's also back to enjoying the activities that knee pain once kept him from doing, such as gardening, camping, woodworking, car maintenance, and spending time with his eight grandchildren.
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