The pain was still manageable, but her legs were bowing and she was hunching over.
Jeanne D. says she’s had knee problems for a long time. “I was able to keep moving for years by visiting OSMC for occasional pain injections,” she says. “The pain was still manageable, but I had significant bowing of my legs. And, I was hunching over.”
Jeanne has osteoarthritis, or “wear and tear” arthritis, a degenerative condition in which the smooth cartilage covering the ends of the bones gradually wears away. The bowing deformity was caused by more wear occurring on the inner side of her knee joint.
She mentions, “I wanted to put off the surgery as long as I could. And, I still was putting it off, until my daughter spoke up. She told me her opinion. It was time for the next step to feel better. She heavily encouraged me to get the knee replacement.”
“My daughter and I show dogs. Boxers,” notes Jeanne. If you had always assumed that the job of showing dogs professionally — or handling, as it is commonly known — was as simple as leading a canine around a ring and collecting the ribbons at the end of the show, think again. The dog handler jogs the ring with the dog. Plus, obedience, rally, agility, coursing, tracking, gaiting, are all part of what’s judged in a dog show. That means that the preparation, training and care start at home. “I guess show dogs and bad knees don’t mix. I need good knees,” states Jeanne.
Jeanne had knee replacement surgery at OSMC in late January. Dr. Craig Erekson performed her joint replacement. “She was a great candidate for the ROSA Knee replacement system. It’s a robotic assistant that our surgeons are specially trained to use. With its GPS-like tracking, the robotic device provides us data during surgery which helps us highly personalize a knee replacement to the unique anatomy of each patient. Jeanne’s knee was aligned with incredible precision. Now her knee joint replacement will function incredibly well and feel quite natural.”
“The care I received at OSMC was professional and wonderful, from the surgery to the physical therapy.” Jeanne says she is getting back at it. “We have a show coming up that I’m looking forward to. Bruno, the Boxer, is happy, too.“
