[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFIe2ZcSTXk&w=100&h=100]
I met with a fantastic surgeon the other day, Dr. William Macaulay Chief of Adult Reconstructive Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, who specializes in a minimally invasive surgery for arthritic hips and knees (unfortunately like mine).
He was one of those rare doctors that really listens and answers your questions more fully than you'd expect. Quite the breath of fresh air.
After reviewing my X-rays and MRI report, he had some good news. He felt I was a candidate for partial knee resurfacing. Take a look at the video above. You'll see that the MAKOplasty resurfacing technique is a lot less invasive (and for that matter, less barbaric) than traditional total and partial knee replacement.
If your constitution is strong, here's what a total knee replacement looks like:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-IE_SbbyNk&w=540&h=390]
Not for the faint of heart eh? No Fred, we will not be doing this to ourselves. No way, no how.
Now, the MAKOplasty technique is new. But Dr. Macaulay assures me that it has a high success rate and can last as long as twenty years or so as long as you do not participate in high impact activities. And who would do that knowing that they have a compromised knee? Not me that's for sure.
I am currently scheduled for the procedure on May 16th. I'll let you all know how it goes!
