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Potocnik, 54, had knee pain for 14 years and had tried every conservative measure for relief from the bone-on-bone pressure he was experiencing.
“Doctors had told me I was too young for knee replacements,” Potocnik said.
Potocnik, who owns Super Lube Oil Change in Rutherfordton, is on his feet all day – a task that became one of many that were difficult.
“I couldn’t even walk down to the road to get the newspaper,” he said. “When I’d go shopping, I’d have to stop and rest after crossing the parking lot.”
Rather than having a total knee replacement, Potocnik’s physician, Dr. Douglas Freels of Rutherford Orthopaedics, recommended the Oxford partial knee replacement by Biomet.
The Oxford Partial knee, Freels explained, is currently the only fully mobile bearing partial knee system available in the United States. It has been utilized in Europe for more than 20 years, but has only been approved in the United States for about five years.
“Being a mobile bearing partial knee replacement allows the implant to last a lot longer and feel more natural to a patient,” Freels said.
Unlike a total knee replacement, which removes all the knee joint surfaces, a partial knee replacement replaces only one side of the knee joint.
“With this type of replacement there is a significant benefit to the patient over a total knee replacement,” Freels said. “With the Oxford partial knee replacement, you have a smaller incision and the rest of the ligaments in the knee stay intact.
“There is less pain for the patient, they have a quicker recovery and there is less rehabilitation needed,” he continued. “In addition to the knee feeling more natural to the patient, the patients are often able to function at a higher activity level than what they would normally do with a total knee replacement, which often means being able to still work at a fairly strenuous job.”
Potocnik had his first partial knee replacement in July. In October, he had the same procedure on his other knee.
“I feel like a brand new person. I can walk without pain and can work all day,” Potocnik said. “Dr. Freels and his associates are the best – there’s no need to go out of town to get great care.”
Not all patients are candidates for partial knee replacement, Freels said.
“The important thing as the surgeon is picking and choosing those patients that can benefit from this surgery is identifying those patients who have early arthritis,” he said.
Only orthopaedic surgeons who have attended the FDA-required training course are allowed to use Oxford partial knee replacements. This specific training teaches surgeons not only the unique technique for this type of partial knee replacement, but it also helps surgeons to better identify those particular patients that are a candidate for an Oxford partial knee replacement.
Dr. Freels has extensive surgical experience in judging those patients who are the best candidates for the Oxford partial knee replacement as he has been using this partial knee replacement for the past five years.
“At Rutherford Orthopaedics all of the surgeons utilize what we feel are the best implants available today for our patients,” he said. “In looking at the medical literature, for partial knee replacements, the Oxford implant has been found to be the most durable and the longest lasting without having to undergo any more surgery for the patient.’
Potocnik also credits his speedy recovery to Paul Arsenault, physical therapist at OneSource Rehab, saying the three-times-per-week regimented exercise program that Arsenault designed helped him to be where he is today – able to perform a deep knee squat without difficulty and to have a 130-degree range of motion.
“It was my Christmas present for 2011 – I got the gift of walking,” Potocnik said. “There’s nothing like having your health.”
For more information, contact Rutherford Orthopaedics at 828-287-9260.
Article submitted by: Allison Flynn, Marketing Assistant,
Rutherford Regional Health System
