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Knee Surgery Keeps Active Senior Going Strong

For Edward Dillner of Brookfield, a 20-minute walk down the block takes an hour as he stops to chat with several neighbors along the way. He is an outgoing and active 72-year-old man who looks 10 years younger. 

True to form, Dillner did a lot of talking before he decided to have knee replacement surgery last fall. He sought out half a dozen people who have had knee surgery to get their reviews, which were all upbeat, Dillner said. He had many questions for his surgeon Melvyn Harrington, M.D. “I’m glad I chose Dr. Harrington,” Dillner said. “He has a very positive attitude. He paid a lot of attention to everything I asked and answered all my questions to my satisfaction.”

Dillner benefited from a type of knee replacement called “uni-compartmental arthroplasty.” Traditional total knee replacement surgery replaces the entire knee joint. This approach allows the surgeon to replace only a third of the knee joint, the part that is most affected by arthritis.

Of the knee replacement surgeries performed at Loyola University Health System last year, a small percentage of them were uni-compartmental. Approximately 10 percent of patients with knee arthritis are candidates for uni-compartmental replacement.

“This procedure is a hot topic in orthopaedics and is a good option for some patients,” Harrington said. “It can be performed with newer instruments that require smaller incisions. Patients feel less pain and recover more quickly.”

The number of joint replacement surgeries is increasing dramatically nationwide. Total knee arthroplasties alone are approaching 300,000 per year. “It is a great operation for reducing pain,” Harrington said. At the same time, the average age of patients has dropped. While Harrington’s average knee replacement patient is in his early 60s, the orthopaedic specialist finds he is doing more knee replacements on people in their 40s and 50s. 

Dillner’s knee pain had increased gradually for about 10 years. A few years ago, Harrington started giving him steroid injections to ease the pain for a few months at a time. Eventually, the pain became too intense for the medication. Dillner’s activity became more and more restricted. Right before his operation, he couldn’t walk more than two blocks without pain.

Dillner has been very pleased with his recovery. The same day of his procedure, he was using a walker to visit other knee surgery patients on his hospital corridor. Three days after surgery he went home to continue his rehabilitation with regular visits from a physical therapist. Six months after surgery, he’s walking one to two miles with no pain. Now he is looking forward to working on some projects around the house. “Thanks to the new knee, I’m ready to do some redecorating. I need to patch and paint the walls,” he said.

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