MOORESVILLE, Ind. – Bev Thomas lay awake in bed, watching the clock, counting the minutes until she could take her third dose of 800 mg ibuprofen for the day. To pass time and help relieve her severe knee pain, she grabbed an ice pack and returned to bed, desperately seeking relief.The daily pattern of interrupted, restless sleep grew increasingly bothersome for this night-shift nurse who works in the emergency room at St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville. Every step sent a shock of pain. Her feet were forced into flat shoes stuffed with orthotic inserts.
Her athletic body, now inactive, had packed on pounds. And her garden suffered from lack of tending.
“I am at my best when I can be moving,” said the 55-year-old Thomas, who had always enjoyed dancing, running, walking, gardening and playing competitive volleyball and co-ed softball.
For four years, she lived with severe and worsening pain in both knees. Cortisone injections, physical therapy and medication failed to relieve the pain she felt from arthritis and long-term athletic stress. Pain had dramatically altered her life. It was time for knee replacement surgery.
The decision was an easy one, Thomas recalls, because she knew her quality of life could only improve after surgery. Besides, this sports enthusiast wasn’t about to lead a sedentary life.
In mid-August 2009, Michael Berend, M.D., orthopedic surgeon with the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery, performed unicompartmental (partial) knee replacement on her left knee, the worse of the two. Six weeks later, he performed the same surgery on her right knee.
With this minimally invasive procedure, only the most damaged cartilage in the knee — not the entire joint — is removed.
“Total knee replacement was not necessary,” said Berend, “because her severe bone-on-bone arthritis was confined to one compartment of the knee, which occurs in up to a third of arthritic knees.”
Her left knee healed without complication. Her right experienced swelling, minor stiffness, more pain and less range of motion than the left at first, but after physical therapy, healed well and provided the same pain relief and increased mobility as the left.
“It just rocked!” Thomas said. “There is a difference of night and day.”
Three months after surgery, she returned to work. Co-workers commented on her noticeably smoother stride. Her once wobbly walk had gone.
The center performs nearly 2,000 joint replacements each year and is recognized as a leader in joint replacement surgery, treating patients from all over Indiana, the Midwest and the nation.
It is ranked No. 1 in Indiana for joint surgery for the fourth year in a row by HealthGrades, the leading health care ratings service. HealthGrades reviews more than 5,000 hospitals throughout the United States and ranks those medical facilities using Medicare data and quality measures, such as complication rates.
To learn more about the center, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org and click on the link for the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery on the home page.
