Breaking Free from Knee Pain: Martin Hodges’ Positive Experience with Outpatient Knee Replacement

Jordan Pysz / iFoundMyDoctor.com
After years of knee pain, Martin is reaping the benefits of selecting the Outpatient Joint Replacement Center of America for his arthroplasty procedure.

The pergola he built from scratch is a pretty good example of Martin Hodges’ vast skill as a handyman, but the best example is the woodshop and apartment he crafted from two automobile shipping containers behind his house. “I bought the first shipping container for the woodshop because it opens up on one side as well as the end, so it has great ventilation,” Martin explains. “Once I got it in place, I poured a concrete slab in front of it and put an overhead on it. “Then I added the second shipping container and welded it to the back of the first one. I was originally going to make that container an addition to my shop, but I turned it into a mini apartment for my son instead.” Just as he does in his shop, Martin spends his workdays using his hands. He’s a low-voltage contractor who installs and repairs public address systems and other small electronics, mostly for hospitals. Martin’s job keeps him on his feet for the better part of most days, and that has been an ordeal the past five years. The reason is that 20 years ago, while working as a cable installer, Martin stepped into a pothole and badly wrenched his left knee. “It was a workman’s comp claim, and workman’s comp didn’t want to pay for anything, so the doctor I was sent to never even took x-rays,” Martin remembers. “He just gave me a soft knee brace and said, Wear this for three months, and you’ll be fine. “Except I wasn’t fine. That knee has been a problem ever since. For a while, I fought through the pain pretty well. But about five years ago, the pain became so bad that I had to stop doing a lot of the things I like to do.” Bike riding is one of those things. Martin used to think nothing of hopping on his bike and riding 20 or 30 miles at a time. His knee pain brought that to an end, though, and since then his bike has been “rusting away on a rack” inside his garage. “Another thing I couldn’t do is hike the Appalachian Trail,” Martin laments. “My wife and her family started doing that three years ago. They’re hiking it in sections, but I couldn’t hike it at all, so I became van support. I’m the guy who drops them off and picks them up.” An avid gardener, Martin built a greenhouse where he grows strawberries hydroponically, but earlier this year, he had to give that up, too. It was after that and while struggling to get through workdays that he decided to again seek medical help. “This time around I wanted a younger doctor who has great reviews, who is up on everything new and has plenty of experience,” Martin says. “I shopped pretty heavily for someone like that and that’s how I found Dr. Clifford at Outpatient Joint Replacement Center of America.”

Jordan Pysz / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Martin Hodges

Success Stories

Co-founded by Philip E. Clifford, MD, AAHKS, AAOS, and Paulina “Mattie” J. Collier, MPAS, PA-C, Outpatient Joint Replacement Center of America specializes in a unique outpatient surgical protocol for hip or knee joint replacement, or arthroplasty. The protocol allows for speedier recoveries that permit patients to walk away from surgery within a few hours, eliminating long postoperative hospital stays. In addition, patients can resume their favorite activities shortly thereafter. Dr. Clifford’s patients have included a cyclist who returned to riding 15 miles a day within a month of receiving a new knee, an 80-year-old skier who was back on the slopes a few weeks after a hip replacement, and a yoga instructor who was doing poses and stretches while still in the recovery room after her hip replacement. And now there’s Martin. His treatment began with a thorough examination during which Dr. Clifford determined that torn cartilage and arthritis were the likely causes of his knee pain. Dr. Clifford then explained the techniques that are at the core of the procedure’s success. “Our success is partly due to one of the medications we use called Exparel®,” the doctor explains. “Exparel is a long-lasting, nonopioid, local anesthetic that can last for two to three days. “And whether we’re replacing a knee or hip, we always use a technique that requires less assault on the muscle. “Our hip procedure, for example, is performed through an incision that is only three to four inches long. That small incision is what allows for the preservation of muscle attachments. It’s also important to note that during our procedure we detach only one tendon from the hip, which is then repaired anatomically. This technique results in less trauma to the hip, less blood loss and a smaller chance that the length of the leg will be changed. “But the best thing about our protocol is that there are no limitations after surgery. Whether it’s a knee or hip being replaced, patients can return to normal activities almost immediately. In fact, we encourage them to do just that.” Education and communication are also important factors in the protocol. Dr. Clifford says he spends more than an hour preparing patients and educating them on the postoperative regimen required to ensure a successful outcome. “Not only that, but when our patients go home after surgery, they know that between 4 and 7 o’clock that night, we’re going to call to check on them,” the doctor adds. “It’s not them calling us; it’s us calling them. That level of patient care does not exist in many places these days.”

“Couldn’t Be Happier”

Following Dr. Clifford’s examination, Martin was deemed a prime candidate for left knee replacement surgery, which was performed on June 2. Soon after, Martin’s knee pain was subsiding, and he was doing more with his knee than he had in years. “My pain level is great now,” he enthuses. “And my range of motion is incredible. At the (physical therapy center), they told me their goal is to get your range of motion to 90 degrees by Week 4. Well, on Day 4, my range of motion was already at 115 degrees. That’s because I was able to start bending and stretching my knee right out of the gate. “As a result, I’ve been very aggressive in rehab. Sometimes too aggressive. But my wife has been a good voice of restraint. She told me, Don’t break your new knee.” Martin is not the first of Dr. Clifford’s patients to get aggressive in rehab following a joint replacement. The protocol Dr. Clifford uses allows for that, and it’s one of the reasons Martin highly recommends Outpatient Joint Replacement Center of America. “I’m extremely happy with the results of my knee replacement,” Martin enthuses. “And I couldn’t be happier with Dr. Clifford and his staff. They’re all great, and so were all the people at the Legacy Surgery Center, where the surgery was done. “I doubt that those people ever get the accolades they should for all they do, so I want to thank them as well as Dr. Clifford and his staff for how they cared for me and for their compassion. They’re all great.”