Insight

Just to provide some insight into my decision to pursue medical school, a glimpse of what I've done.

I doubt there is nothing we do that provides more satisfaction to us and the patient as replacing a worn out, osteoarthritic knee joing. I have participated in the surgery and care of total knee replacement, or total knee arthroplasty (arthro-joint, plasty-recreation) patients to replace a painful damaged or diseased knee joint with an artificial joint (prosthesis).

It is the surgery of last resort for this disease. By the time they get to surgery, they've done lots of non-surgical stuff (injections, physical therapy, ice, heat, bioelectric impedance, non-steroidal antiinflammatories or NSAIDs, and sometimes pain relievers). We do it under general or spinal anesthesia and in about 2 hours we take out the old and put in the new. There are variations on how many parts get put in, but the results are the same...replace worn out joint cartilage with either metal or plastic or both to recreate a new surface. We implant ours with bone cement, but you don't have to and some don't.

When I came into her room tonight to pull out the drain that keeps blood from collecting in the new joint, she was eating fried chicken and entertaining guests. Just a few short hours ago, she was lying in surgery with the sounds of drills, saws and country music in the air. Sounds a little like "this old house" and not reconstructive surgery. But without pain, and a working knee joint again, this is truly one of the most gratifying procedures we do...as long as things don't go badly.