ST AY IN G ON BE AT

Cleveland Smith shares his stor y of a double knee replacement

Words: Caitlin Pallai | Photog raphe r: Scot t Thue n

Cleveland Smith firs t notice d the pain while teachinghis Zumba -inspired clas s, Dance At tack .

He had been teaching the clas s for abou ta year when discomfor t sur faced inhis le ft knee Cleveland was unde terred

“Not hing wasgoing to stopme fromdoing what I love d, bu t over time I was doing it in pain,” said the 54 -year-oldMoorhead resident , who als o li ft s weights and helps ot her wi th st reng th training.

Up on re covery, Dr. Lindemeier turned to Cleveland’s right knee and discuss ed a ne w surg ic al opt ion –a robotic- as siste d proce dure–introduced to Essent ia Heal th -Far go in July

“T he proce dure islike a tradit ional total knee replacement, bu t wi th a robotic as sis tant , the ROS A Knee Sy stem ,” ex plains Dr. Lindemeier. “T he sur ge on is st ill in cont rol, bu t it allows fora hig her le vel of accuracy and precision. This proces s is taking what has beena succes sf ul procedure to the ne xt le vel.”

The ROS A sy stemuses data collec ted beforeand during surgery to inform the surgeon about the patient’s unique anatomy, which mayaffec t the implantfit. By using real -time data, the surgeon can plan for and carr y outa customized operation.

Cleveland’s right knee was replaced in September. Hele ft the hospit al the same day, which is ty pical.

“T he sooner we get patients backhome and moving , the be tter they do,” says Dr. Lindemeier.

Af tera we ek of physic al therapy, Cleveland felt back to normal. Wi thin two, he was back to work . Being an ac ti ve pers on aide d hissucces s.

Cleveland ex plains that , beyond the physical,a p art ofhis re cover y was also mental. “I t’sa whole mind game,” he says “I f your mind is st uckon the ‘should have s’ and ‘should dos ’, that ’s going to hur t you.”

Ex periencing both procedures , Cleveland de scribe s fe elinga grea ter range of motion wi th his right knee

One of Cleveland’s de dica te d follower s, a nur se prac titioner, notice d he was in pain She would appro ach him af ter clas s, event uall y conv incing him to make anappointment

It wasquick ly discoveredthat Cleveland’s le ft knee was bone -on-bone due todamage d cart ilage, which serves as a cushion and aids in heal thy movement

Cort isone shot s were administered , bu t Cleveland’s pain persiste d. He was re ferred to Dr Samual Lindemeier, an or thopedic sur ge on at Ess ent ia Heal th.

“Despi tehis pain , Cleveland was at tempt ing to maintain an ac ti ve li fe st yle,” says Dr. Lindemeier. “W it hX- rays ,I could see thatboth knees were bone -on-bone, so we discus se da sur gical replacement opt ion start ing wi th his le ft knee.”

Cleveland underwent sur gery in Febr uary 2022 Ini tially, his movementwas limi te d. During follow -up visi ts , Dr. Lindemeier told Cleveland to move his knee more orhewould move it for him “T his realiz at ion helpe d moti va te me to bend my knee at 10 0% and domy physic al therapy! ” admi ts Cleveland.

Cleveland’s physic al therapis t helpe d him achie ve his post-sur gery go als.Af ter thre e week s, he was movinghis knee on his ow n. Wi thin four week s, he was running, jumpingand back at wor k.

While st udie s have not show nmajor shor t- term di fferences bet we en robotic and non- robotic procedures , the ROS A sy stem ’sincreas ed accuracy and pers onaliz at ion can mean improved longe vi ty ofimplants

“T he go al is that by improv ing precision,the knee will be more balanced which may lead to be tter pat ientou tcome s,” Dr. Lindemeier st ates . “Eit her way, wewant toimprove, if not eliminate, a pat ient ’s pain , and improve their func tion and abili ty to re turn to the ac ti vi ties and li fe st yle they enjoy.”

While many pe ople li ve wi th ar thri tis and can manage the p ain non- sur gicall y, the de cision hinges on quali ty ofli fe.

“Ifyou are experiencing pain thatimpac ts dail y ac ti vities, that ’s when you know surger y really needs to be considere d,” says Dr Lindemeier.

To learn more about our Or thopedic & Spor ts Medicine serv ices , visit EssentiaHealth.or g

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