By Kevin Mosier, MD
The knee, a weight-bearing joint essential for support and movement, is the most commonly injured joint in the body. Arthritis, injury, obesity and overuse are some of the common causes for knee pain—which can be debilitating. It can make walking without assistance difficult or even impossible.
When all other treatment options fail, total knee replacement can help patients regain the ability to walk and virtually extinguish the pain they felt before the surgery. For Larry Weidert, the pain he was experiencing kept him from doing the things he enjoyed, including riding his bicycle every day.
"I couldn't work as long as I wanted to. My knee would start hurting, so I would have to quit," Weidert says. "So I went to see Dr. Mosier, and he determined that we needed to do a knee replacement."
Total knee replacement is an option for people, like Weidert, with knee damage too severe to be helped by other treatment options. He trusted Kevin Mosier, MD, to perform the surgery.
"Mr. Weidert is a super nice guy," Dr. Mosier says. "He had a complex knee problem that I was able to help him with, and he was a wonderful patient to care for."
Gearing up
As a knee replacement patient, Weidert received care through Labette Health's joint replacement program. The program is designed to build a partnership between hip- and knee-replacement patients and their health care team.
– Larry Weidert
Patients and their families attend a class to learn exactly what to expect before, during and after their surgery. With evidence-based plans of care and a personalized therapy approach, the multidisciplinary joint replacement team helps patients reach their goals of decreased pain, maximized function and mobility, and an overall improvement in quality of life.
Following knee replacement, patients stay in the hospital for one to three days. Patients can stand and start moving the joint the same day of surgery, which they are typically encouraged to do.
"After the surgery, our patients go through physical therapy—an important part of the recovery process—to strengthen their muscles," Dr. Mosier says. "Not long after the surgery, patients can participate in most activities, except running and high-impact sports."
For physical therapy, Weidert went to Labette Health's Center of Rehabilitation Excellence, or The CORE.
"I'm impressed with their whole team," he says. "They work like a well-oiled machine."