| Pictured: Patient Norman Gralow with Dr. Thomas Comfort |
Seventeen years ago, Norman Gralow had knee replacement surgery at Baldwin Area Medical Center (BAMC). He recalls it was a good experience and his knee has been functioning well ever since.
Because of the success of his first surgery, Gralow made the decision to have his other knee replaced at BAMC by Dr. Thomas Comfort of St. Croix Orthopaedics. With recent joint replacement advances on his mind, Gralow said he was unsure how this second experience would compare with the first, but Dr. Comfort took the time to answer Gralow's questions about his condition and treatment options. Dr. Comfort proposed minimally invasive (MIS) joint replacement surgery for Gralow.
MIS total knee replacement is a relatively new method. It entails replacing the knee joint surfaces with titanium/cobalt chrome and plastic components. Although, the knee components are the same as those used in the traditional surgery, the procedure differs from the traditional procedure in two major respects.
1) The operative procedure is done through an incision that is less than half the length of the standard total knee incision, yet the same result is accomplished -- knee pain from disabling arthritis is gone.
2) The MIS approach allows your surgeon to avoid muscle and tendon cutting, thereby minimizing trauma to the knee. As a result, there is much less postoperative pain and patients are routinely able to begin walking and exercising the day of surgery. This accelerated rehabilitation enables patients to go home from the hospital earlier and return to a normal lifestyle much earlier than with traditional surgery.
After surgery, Gralow's hospital stay was three days long compared to a full week during his previous knee replacement. In addition, Gralow noted that the post-surgical pain was greatly decreased in comparison to his last knee replacement. "The whole experience was like a vacation for me in the hospital," said Gralow. "I think this area of Baldwin, Woodville and Hammond is extremely fortunate to have a facility this close by."
BAMC's value of service is to provide a safe, caring and compassionate experience to patients. The hospital strives to help patients like Norman Gralow gain renewed function after treatment.
To learn more about MIS knee replacement, click here. To learn more about BAMC, click here.
