Chuck Santry
Bilateral Knee Replacement
"I want to say that I waited as long as possible to have knee surgery. I was waiting for the "miracle' cure, which never happened. While waiting I had cortisone shots for at least 3 years every 90 days, the efficacy diminished as I continued these shots. I also tried PRP and other injectables. I was determined to push out surgery as long as possible since I was still able to play tennis 3-5 times per week, albeit with large doses of Aleve. On January 8 I had a complete left knee replacement. The recovery and physical therapy were hard, but the result was incredible. I was hitting balls at 5 weeks and starting to play competitively at 8 weeks. There was NO pain in the knee for the first time in over 10 years. This procedure was so successful that I decided to do my right knee. Cottage Hospital now had the Mako knee robot as of March 2019. Dr. Gallivan offered me the choice of his surgical skills alone or his skill alone with Mako. I chose the latter. I must let you know that I was awake for both surgeries and it was incredible. The right knee surgery was successful, but for the first 10 days I was concerned the recovery was slower than the first leg knee surgery. That all changed the 14 day mark. Physical therapy along with the precision of the Mako sped up the healing process. I actually started playing competitively at 6 weeks with a support brace. but with NO pain. Now I question why did I wait so long. Of course looking back I was waiting for Dr. Gallivan to arrive! Cheers
