Last Sunday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an in-depth report on joint replacement procedures performed at metro Atlanta hospitals. As part of that story, the AJC’s Carrie Teegardin asked our readers to tell us about their hip or knee replacements. Here’s a look at what they had to say.
» See the hospital rankings: Click here to see the quality ratings for joint replacement procedures done at hospitals throughout the greater Atlanta area.
Our readers' comments
Note: Some of our readers asked us to use their first names only and we honored these requests.
From our readers:
Cindy Cohen wrote in on Sunday to say she was going to the hospital the next day for her 5th replacement in the past 10 years. She's had two hips, one knee and one shoulder replaced. The other knee was up next. She said each surgery had its "recovery challenges" but nothing that was not pretty easily handled.
“I think of what my life would be like without these doctors and my accessibility to the health plans I have needed to make these surgeries possible,” she said. “I would certainly be totally disabled and on constant pain medication had I not been able to get these replacements.
“Are there risks? Of course! I've been made aware of all of them. But the alternative is out of the question. I have two amazing grandchildren that I can enjoy! Friends with whom I can enjoy the best sights, art shows, plays and concerts that Atlanta has to offer! I was even able to walk the 3Day Breast Cancer walk after having one knee and one hip replaced.”
We checked in with Cindy on Tuesday and she was already home from the hospital and said the procedure went well.
“PT starts tomorrow,” she wrote. “That’s the real work.”
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Bill had a knee replacement in 2012 to treat a torn meniscus, which caused significant knee pain. The procedure went well.
“No complications. No infections. Rehab physical therapy is a bear,” he said.
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Dave had his “worn out right knee” replaced in January. He said the surgery went well. He said he was prescribed a blood thinner after surgery to prevent blood clots, but he ended up with one of the potential side effects of taking this medication.
“On the tenth post-op day, a blood vessel in my right knee burst causing severe bleeding,” Dave wrote. “It produced the worst pain anyone could ever imagine.”
The ER was able to treat the problem and sent Dave home. While it pushed back his recovery by about 3 weeks, Dave was pleased with how the medical staff handled his complication and also impressed with how well the entire medical team – the surgeon, the nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses – handled his case.
“The competence of the surgeon’s team and how well they work together can affect the eventual outcome for the patient,” he said.
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Florence Weinberg told us about her knee replacement that was done in 1991, when these procedures were still relatively rare.
“After several months of pain, initially, it has been pain free over the years,” she wrote. “I still walk daily without use of cane or walker.”
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Johnny Barnhart III had total hip replacement done in 2013. He responded to one of our emails after spending a painless two hours walking around his yard to cut the grass.
“Best thing I’ve ever done for myself,” he wrote. “After 3 years of severe pain, woke up in the recovery room with no pain at all and none since.”
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Nancy from Lawrenceville has had two hip replacements within the past two years. Both procedures went just as planned. “Although it’s hard to believe you can get out of bed and walk after your whole hip joint has been replaced, I was up and walking down the hall and walking up steps within 24 hours,” she said.
Nancy said she had an anterior approach for her second surgery, which is a relatively new technique that is less invasive.
“I recently celebrated my second year of pain-free walking by participating in the Lake Hartwell Dam Run/Walk,” Nancy wrote.
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Sue Shores had surgery in 2012 to replace her knees, one in June and one in July.
“It couldn’t have gone better,” she said. “Physical therapy lasted about 10 weeks from the first surgery. The swelling reduced over time, but was mostly gone by the beginning of September. I have never regretted having this done. It has made it possible for me to enjoy being active again.”
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Tom Gerbeck of Powder Springs said he had his left knee replaced in 2010. “There was no cartilage left at all and it was bone on bone for several years,” he wrote.
He said he attended a mandatory class before the surgery to prepare.
He said he spent three days at the hospital, and got great care from nurses there and from visiting nurses and a physical therapist after he got home. He recovered as planned and takes precautions to prevent any future complications.
“Before any medical or dental procedure I am to take antibiotics to prevent any possible infection. This is forever. After four years, so far so good.”
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Jack had a partial knee replacement in 2009 on his left knee. After the surgery, he had a lot of joint pain that the doctor tried to treat with several medications. He finally got some relief with a strong steroid, but he said this made his body swell and also made his face turn red. “I looked like a red beach ball,” he said. The doctor stopped the steroid and put him on a powerful narcotic and repeatedly increased the dosage to try to control the pain. About a year later, he had a partial replacement done on his right knee.
“A few months later, another Orthopedic Surgeon did an x-ray on the original left knee and told me the artificial joint had moved about 3 to 4 millimeters, and was the probable cause of my pain. My right knee seemed OK.”
In 2012, he had a total left knee replacement to deal with the problem. “The left knee seems great now.”
After taking narcotics for so long, Jack said he had become addicted to the medications and had to work with a pain specialist to successful stop all narcotics.
“Now I am having some pain from the inside joint of the right knee. It may need replacing in the next year or so.”
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Lynn Gregory and his wife both used the same orthopedic surgery: for his elective knee replacement and her emergency hip replacement. In the emergency situation, Lynn said he was initially concerned that the urgent need for the procedure meant he didn’t have a chance to research the doctors and make his own choice. He grilled the surgeon.
“I asked if he did many and he quoted a high number and how often he performed both hip and knees,” he said.
Lynn said he became a big fan of his surgeon as a great doctor and a very nice guy. He picked him for his own elective procedure.
“Both our joint replacements went without a hitch,” he said.
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