HOUSTON – At 80-years-old, Deni Heller refused to let knee pain sideline her and a robotic partial knee replacement at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic helped her stay active.
From dreading surgery to “almost perfect” knee
Heller, who has osteoarthritis, had a full knee replacement on her left knee in 2006. When pain started in her right knee, she dreaded going through another major surgery.
Her doctor sent her to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alex Metoxen, who told her she qualified for a robotic-assisted partial knee replacement instead of a full replacement.
“Half of your knee is good, the other half is not,” Heller recalls him saying.
Even though she resisted an operation, she decided to go through with the partial replacement, hoping for an easier recovery - which she got!
“Not only was it functional, it was absolutely almost perfect,” Heller said.
The procedure was done at Kelsey-Seybold’s outpatient surgery center. After several hours in recovery, Heller was up and walking with a walker and says she never needed prescription pain medicine.
“Everything was manageable with Tylenol,” she said. “Within three to four weeks, I was back on the treadmill.”
How robotic partial knee replacement works
Dr. Metoxen uses robotic technology to perform partial knee replacements with sub-millimeter precision. A CT scan taken before surgery is matched to what the robot sees during the operation, guiding exactly where to place the implant.
Because only the damaged section of the knee is resurfaced patients often have:
- Smaller incisions
- Less scar tissue
- Faster, easier recovery
Age is less of a barrier
In the past, patients in their late 70s or 80s were often considered too old for joint replacement surgery. Dr. Metoxen says that has changed.
“Age truly can be just a number,” he said. “It’s more about your overall health and the anesthesia techniques we can use to get you through that operation.”
With modern spinal anesthesia, nerve blocks and carefully planned pain control, he’s safely operated on patients even in their 90s. Many go home the same day from surgery centers, like those in Memorial, Clear Lake and Fort Bend.
Back to golf, volunteering and grandparenting
Heller prepared by losing 10 pounds and staying as active as possible with chair yoga and exercise. Today she golfs, volunteers, attends book club and keeps up with her grandson.
“Without your knees being able to work properly, you truly are, in a way, disabled,” she said. “I came out of being disabled… It changed my life.”