“I tore my knee up playing football when I was twelve years old,” recalls Jeff Mathis. “Then I got into a car accident. Over the years, there’s been a lot of wear and tear.”

Jeff developed arthritis from his knee injuries, and it caused him progressively more severe pain as an adult.

“I just couldn’t be active like I wanted,” he explains. “It would take me fifteen minutes of walking around the bed in the morning before I could walk steady, and I was in pain all day.”

Jeff consulted David Griffin, MD, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Griffin notes that for select patients, conservative treatment is not a viable option. Fortunately, today’s knee replacement surgery offers a long-term solution.

“Due to Jeff’s relative youth, I wanted to be sure to use a prosthesis that has high flex and the ability to bend,” says the doctor, “so that if he is participating in activities like golf or working around the house, he’ll be able to do those things.”

Dr. Griffin says patients don’t necessarily have to wait until they’re in their 60s or 70s to have joint surgery. “Even at forty-eight, it would have been untenable for Jeff to wait until an age when most people have their joints replaced because during that time period he would be less active, lose muscle strength, and see his quality of life deteriorate.

“When I first started doing this procedure, we discouraged younger patients from having surgery if at all possible because the prosthesis would last only eight years or so. Now, our goal is a twenty-five- or thirty-year knee, and it’s possible to attain this.

“I have patients who have had knee replacements for twenty-plus years already, and that was using older materials and less sophisticated surgical techniques than what we have today. When you have severe arthritis, there comes a point where even at a young age it’s appropriate to have a knee replacement.”

On his feet again

Jeff says it was “great” to have his procedures done.

“I couldn’t believe that they got my knee working right away,” he marvels. “After the first surgery, the knee that hadn’t had surgery on it yet was in more pain than the one that just had surgery! I couldn’t wait to get the other knee done.”

Now that both procedures have been completed, Jeff is enjoying life once again without pain.

“I have been golfing pretty regularly now, and I walk up to ten miles a week,” he reports. “It’s been great working with Dr. Griffin and his staff. They’re a good group of people.”

Another patient’s experience

“I used to play golf, until my knees gave me such a hard time I stopped,” says Sheridan Skogen. “My wife and I love to travel, too, and we had to stop because my knees hurt so much.”

After limping for about a year, Sheridan’s wife let him know the time had come. “My wife said, We have to get your knees straightened out so we can get back to living again!”

He checked around and eventually decided on Richard Steinfeld, MD, also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

“We went and talked with him,” recalls Sheridan, “and we were sold on his attitude and his personality. I said, He’s got to be my man for this.”

Using a wide range of nonsurgical modalities to relieve his patients’ joint pain, Dr. Steinfeld and his colleagues work to reduce or eliminate the necessity for invasive surgery. Conservative treatments include pain-relieving injections, oral medications, and physical therapy.

“Many patients realize reduced pain and increased joint function with nonsurgical measures and we are able to delay or avoid the need for invasive surgery,” reflects Dr. Steinfeld. “However, in the event that nonsurgical measures do not relieve the pain, or in cases where there is severe degeneration of the joint, a total joint replacement procedure may be the best option.

“In our practice, we treat people of all ages,” he emphasizes, “and take every opportunity to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients.”

Back in action

Bilateral knee replacement was the right decision in Sheridan’s case.

“It was bone on bone before, and one leg was slightly bent,” he describes. “But now that I’ve got a perfect set of knees again, I haven’t had a single pain, and the knee that was crooked before is straight as an arrow.”

He thanks Dr. Steinfeld and the staff for all their help.

“With today’s technology, and skilled surgeons like Dr. Steinfeld, I tell people, Go in and get it done. Don’t put it off. Our lives were on hold, but now we’re back in action again.”

FHCN – Michael J. Sahno