Allegheny Health Network: Personalized Care and Advanced Technologies to Eliminate Joint Pain
Dr. Sauber said that using MAKO™ can help some patients avoid
a total knee replacement with a partial-knee operation, which
reduces recovery time.
Bilateral knee replacement relieves pain
for former football player
During hip surgery, AHN surgeons may also use a muscle sparing
technique. Instead of cutting a muscle, surgeons will move them out
of the way. The benefit is that fewer muscles are damaged, there’s
less pain and a quicker recovery.
Just over a week after undergoing
double knee replacement surgery
at Canonsburg Hospital, former
professional football player
Leo Wisniewski ditched his
walker during a stroll around his
Bridgeville neighborhood.
“The fact that we’re able to use state-of-the-art technology
is a blessing,” said Nick Sotereanos, MD, Director of Adult
Orthopaedic Reconstructive Surgery at Allegheny Health Network.
“We have the wherewithal and the backing to do cutting edge
medicine.”
Dr. Sotereanos added, “AHN and its hospitals have a long history
of providing the latest in cutting edge surgical techniques and
technologies to produce the best outcomes for our patients.”
“I did one trip, and I said, ‘I don’t need this anymore’. I just
used a cane for a couple of days,” said Leo.
Four years as a defensive lineman with the Baltimore Colts
took a toll on Leo’s body, including major knee injuries. He
underwent an ACL reconstruction in August 1985 that ended
his football career.
After that, Leo coached football at Geneva College,
Waynesburg University, and Canon-McMillan High School.
But lingering knee problems were still causing problems.
“I was starting to suffer from the effects of osteoarthritis in my
knees,” he said.
Before his 2014 bilateral knee surgery, Leo said he had some
concerns, but Donald Ravasio, DO, an orthopaedic surgeon
at AHN’s Canonsburg Hospital, put him and his wife, Cindy,
at ease.
Right, Dr. Michael Seel performs a MAKO™ Partial Knee Resurfacing,
with the guidance of the Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System.
Dr. DeMeo said innovation and high quality care will always be
a hallmark of the network’s orthopaedic program. “We continue
to recruit the best and the brightest physicians in the field, and
we’re embracing new technologies that allow us to have high
reproducibility with low complication rates.”
MAKO™ Partial Knee Resurfacing and Total Hip Arthroplasty
procedures are currently offered at Allegheny General Hospital,
West Penn Hospital, and Saint Vincent Hospital. One-day hip
surgeries are performed at Allegheny General Hospital and West
Penn Hospital, and one-day knee surgeries are done at Allegheny
General Hospital and Canonsburg Hospital. Joint replacement
services are offered at all Allegheny Health Network hospitals.
Learn more about joint replacement and the Allegheny Health
Network’s Orthopaedic Institute at ahn.org or call 412.DOCTORS.
“Dr. Ravasio appealed to us because he had experience
performing bilateral knee replacements,” Leo said.
He added, “I talked to five or six men who had knee
replacements, some of them both knees, and hearing their
success stories really helped me to gain real confidence
toward this surgery.”
According to Dr. Ravasio, replacing both knees at once with
implants made of chrome, titanium, and plastic, meant that
Leo only had to undergo anesthesia once. “Also, Leo would
be able to rehab both knees during a single rehabilitation
period, and that helped reduce his overall recovery time.”
After a full recovery, Leo glides on an elliptical trainer or walks
on a treadmill between eight and 10 miles a week.
“I like to crank up the incline and get a real good sweat. I’m
doing a lot of cardio activity. The knees are weight bearing
for sure.
“I still tell everybody about the great experience I had,” he
said. “Dr. Ravasio and everyone were great.”