Surgery Also Straightened Legs

Edward was delighted when he learned the double knee replacement surgery (see sidebar) would straighten his legs, too. They now look normal for the first time in his life. The operation couldn't have come at a better time — Edward had been facing life in a wheelchair due to pain.

"It wasn't unusual for me to sleep all day on Saturday because of how tired I would get just doing administrative work in an office," he said. "I could not stand for more than 20 minutes without my knees getting so swollen I could barely walk.

"But immediately after the surgery," he continued, "they got me up to walk, and I did it. It was like a lifelong problem was gone in an instant."

Edward spent four days in recovery in the orthopedic unit at John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital. The first day, he could walk with the aid of a walker.

"I was very leery at first," he said. "I had two brand new knees, and I had no idea what was going to happen. That ortho floor is a really big place. They were shocked that I walked the entire way around it."

He also used the unit's Secure-Track, a 110-foot monorail ceiling track that runs the length of the back hall. Strapped into the system, Edward was able to put weight on his legs. "Yet I had no fear of falling. It's great," he said.

Five Stars

"Out of five stars, I'd give it a five," he said of the Deer Valley Hospital.
"I felt like they cared about me, not just as a number but as a person."

"As total knee replacements go, it was a pretty standard procedure," Dr. Kassman said. "But because of how badly bowed his legs were, the change is dramatic. His legs turned out nicely, and I'm very happy with his progress."

Edward is much more effusive. "It's changed my life. I feel really blessed. Everyone tells me I look so much happier. My quality of life is so much better. I feel like I'm 15 years younger."

A Precise Fit

For Edward Guerrero's knee replacements, orthopedic surgeon Steven R. Kassman, MD, used an advanced technology that:
• Produces patient-customized "cutting blocks" from pre-operative MRI images of the patient's knees prior to the surgery.
• Uses the MRI images to create maps of the patient's knee and limb alignment.
• Allows precise sizing of the components, aligned to the mechanical axis of the knee. This provides significant improvement in the final fitting and alignment of limbs in such surgeries.

During the surgery, the plastic blocks fit over the end of the thigh and shin bones and serve as templates for making cuts in the bone for the new knee components.

Those components are universally metal-on-plastic. The ones used for Edward have a special coating that reduces friction and improves the longevity of the new knee. The manufacturer expects them to last 30 years, not the more standard 15.