Reducing the Pain of Knee Replacement Surgery
Bessie Lee, 54, of Gaithersburg, Md., knows a thing or two about knee replacement surgery. As an operating room nurse, she has seen the procedure performed many times. In fact, her own right knee was replaced five years ago. So, when osteoarthritis in her left knee progressed to the point that she needed to have the joint replaced, she thought she knew what to expect. However, her experience with the Total Joint Replacement Center at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital far exceeded her expectations.
“Knee replacement surgery is a very involved operation,” says Bessie. “It can be very painful and a lot can go wrong, but I had a glorious experience.”
Bessie went home just two-and-a-half days after her surgery, had very little pain, and was moving around on her new knee the very next day.
Active Lifestyle Preserved With Innovative Ankle Replacement Surgery
David Kearing, MD, battled for years with post-traumatic ankle arthritis caused by years of repeated sports-related ankle sprains, one of which included a dislocation. He had two operations to address the arthritis, and he had taken so much over-the-counter pain medication that he began to develop an ulcer.
However, David’s ankle pain continued, and it affected his home and work lives. “I couldn’t walk on the beach with my family during vacations,” he explains. “Even a middle-of-the-night trip to the bathroom was excruciating.” On his job, the situation was just as challenging. “As an ER physician, I need to be able to move around, and I was just hobbling,” he says.
Revolutionary Approach to Hip Replacement Frees Patient from a Long Recovery
Riti Kline, in town for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) annual convention, spent Independence Day watching the fireworks from a bed at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. It wasn’t the Fourth of July holiday that Rita had planned, nor had she planned the fall that landed her in the hospital with a broken hip.
While crossing the street near DAR headquarters a few days earlier, Rita lost her footing on a rough spot in the road and tumbled to the pavement. Paramedics wanted to take her to the nearest hospital, but the former resident of Washington, D.C., insisted on going to MedStar Georgetown.
D.C.’s First Comprehensive Bloodless Medicine Program
When his acid reflux became intolerable and an endoscopy confirmed a diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus, Peter Velarde knew surgery was inevitable. So Peter, a retiree from Frederick, Md., began a very methodical search for just the right surgeon. Of course, he wanted a skilled and experienced practitioner with a solid track record of success. But finding a surgeon who also respected his religious beliefs was just as critical.
Delicate Neck Surgery Preserves Range of Motion and Active Lifestyle
Jonathon “Jon” Alberstadt barely covered a block of his standard four-mile run before it hit him: He couldn’t continue without falling.
“It was scary,” the 62-year-old says of last summer’s experience. “I was used to running or biking every day. But I was scuffing my feet, losing my balance, tripping.”
Jon knew this day might come. In 1995, two successful surgeries relieved compressed nerves in his neck—the source of the persistent pain and muscle weakness in his left arm. Yet doctors cautioned that a similar problem could resurface later in life. The likely culprit: years of wear-and-tear from white-water kayaking, probably compounded by his high-school wrestling career.
