 Lesley
Dacosta looked at x-rays of her left knee and saw bone on bone, no
cartilage. She understood why she could not walk at work.
As an assistant manager at Wal-mart in North Canton, Ohio, Lesley
found herself in a wheelchair, rolling from hardware to sporting
goods to toys to electronics."My leg hurt so bad," remembers
Lesley. "It felt like there were sharp shards of glass in my
knee. Every step was pain."
Under the care of Kurtis Biggs, DO, Lesley chose an Oxford
Unicompartmental Knee implant, a half-knee replacement that
preserves healthy knee structures while restoring normal knee
function. "It saved my life," affirms Lesley. "Pain
would wake me up at night. Since my knee surgery, I can sleep
all night through."
Dr. Biggs has since joined the Joint Implant Surgeons of Florida,
and LMHS wants individuals in Southwest Florida to know about of the
benefits of the Oxford Uni-Knee.
"Smaller incision, shorter recovery time, less pain and a faster
return to function," Dr. Biggs clarifies as the Oxford Uni-Knee
appeal. "Patients are elated to hear a less invasive surgery
and a shorter hospital stay may satisfy their ultimate goal of
returning to an active lifestyle."
A typical knee replacement will require a patient to stay in the
hospital for three to four days. Patients can also expect to
use a walker for four weeks, followed by a cane for an additional
two to four weeks, before the patient can return to normal function,
an average of six to eight weeks after surgery.
Patients who opt for the Oxford Uni-Knee tend to spend 24 to
48 hours in the hospital and leave walking with a cane.
Within two to four weeks, patients are walking without a device.
"The surgery takes 45 minutes to complete," explains Dr. Biggs.
"Usually, patients are standing the same day. Some patients
even go home the day of surgery."
Full knee replacements are normally coupled with 24 to 48 hours
of an intravenous narcotic. "The Oxford rarely requires IV
pain medication," says Dr. Biggs. "Oral medications treat
pain, though the pain feels different. The nagging, aching
pain from the injury or the arthritis is gone and replaced by an
incisional pain, which can be controlled."
Four weeks of physical therapy help patients regain their
physical strength. "There's a huge difference between pain and
discomfort," says Lesley. "I would rather have the discomfort
of rehabilitation than the constant pain I felt prior to surgery."
For more information on the Oxford Uni-Knee, contact your
physician or Dr. Biggs at 239-337-2003. |
