A Look into Knee Replacement
Dr. Dang Khoa Vo
We are happy to share this look into knee replacement by orthopedic surgeon, Dang Khoa Vo MD. Thank you, Dr. Vo for taking time to share Mrs. Neri’s case and her outcome with us.
Mrs. Ninfa Congson Neri is a 65 y/o dentist who has suffered debilitating, left worse than right, knee pain for several years that has significantly reduced her quality of life as she can no longer walk long distances outside of the home without the use of a cane/walker. Even mere prolonged standing is now a challenge in her activities of daily living. She felt very fortunate to have been selected as a candidate for left total knee replacement on this Operation Walk mission to General Santos City, Philippines.
She underwent left total knee arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia without complications. Remarkably, despite being the last case of the day, when I saw her on postoperative rounds before leaving the hospital that evening, I was astonished that she sat up in bed with a beaming smile on her face. I understood the joy! With her husband and daughter at the bedside, she leaped from her hospital bed, stood and walked to me, without the use of any cane, walker or other gait aids, just to show me how much her knee pain has improved…or rather resolved. Of all the joint replacements I’ve done (albeit there have not been many in the grand scheme), I don’t remember a patient ever getting out of bed, walking unassisted and pain-free on the same day. What a mix of emotions that jolted me…I was briefly frozen in fear that she might fall and hurt herself, though elated to see such a dramatic and immediate impact that an operation can have on someone’s quality of life. The excitement from her family was palpable. Her only wish is for Operation Walk to return next year and be able to replace her right knee.
