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Patient TestimonialRoger, ADVANCE® Medial-Pivot Knee System Recipient Roger, 69, is a master cyclist competing at the national level but he doesn’t like to be known just as a cyclist. A retiree, Roger finds much more to fill his time than cycling, although he does take his training seriously. In addition, he has long been an avid skier, living in northern Utah with the mountains “in the backyard,” and has spent a lot of time on the slopes. With practice has come skill, and Roger has become an expert, holding himself to high expectations both on the mountains and on the bike. Much of the time, his wife joins him in his athletic pursuits.
These results are specific to this individual only. Individual results and activity levels after surgery vary and depend on many factors including age, weight and prior activity level.
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Roger’s many years of athleticism have left him with a few bumps along with bruises from a broken patella in a mountain bike crash several years ago. Then, there was the torn ACL and meniscus ligament in a skiing accident and later still, a torn ACL, MCL and broken tibia; all in the left knee. Gradually, Roger’s knee deteriorated, and while he continued to ski and bike, the pain affected his performance, and he grew frustrated. “After just an hour of skiing, the pain would set in, and I couldn’t link my turns together anymore,” says Roger. “It wasn’t so much the pain that bothered me, but the frustration- I didn’t want to be skiing and biking if I couldn’t do it at the level I was used to. It just wasn’t fun to have those limitations, and to feel like my body wasn’t up to doing the things I love.” Roger tried wearing a specialized brace designed to shift the weight off his bad knee. Cortisone shots were an option but he didn’t want to rely on them for the rest of his life. Finally, he accepted that knee replacement might be his best option. Upon hearing of a replacement option suitable for people with active, adventurous lifestyles, he went to see Dr. Lynn Rasmussen at the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray, Utah.
Dr. Rasmussen gave him some bad news; his knee was “a mess.” He recommended a total knee replacement with Wright’s ADVANCE® Medial-Pivot Knee System, a device designed to restore normal knee kinematics and optimize range of motion. Roger had the surgery in July 2005 and began the process of recovery, including physical therapy, to regain his strength as quickly as possible. In fact, he made it back to the ski slopes the very first winter after his surgery.
Today, Roger is feeling as good as new, and is training hard for his upcoming cycling competition in the Masters National Time Trial early this summer. As part of his training, he’s lifting weights regularly and even finds that he is more confident with his left leg than his right when it comes to lifting the heaviest weights. He can now keep up with his wife again on training rides, and after rebuilding his confidence on the ski slopes, he has regained the active retirement he always looked forward to. Roger explains, “I’m a goal-oriented individual, and I believe that if you want something, you have to go after it and do it. When I was struggling so much with my knee, I didn’t see the horizon too brightly. But after my knee replacement, it’s starting to look much better.”
