I need a suggestion of a great knee Dr -

[roswellnmgirl]

I need a suggestion of a great knee Dr - hopefully in or near the Villages - I have read some old posts - but wonder if anyone has recent experience of a Dr. they have had success with. I have injured mine by working out a lot.
Thank you in advance for your time.

[deano_hoosier]

Try looking at the following link to see which Orthopods are ones you would like to consider.

https://projects.propublica.org/surgeons/state/FL/procedure/8154

[dadspet]

Great knee Dr for total Knee replacement > Dr Nguyen. One day / night in hospital and Fast recovery. Goes in through the side instead of the front and spares a muscle (or something ) that greatly reduces recovery time.
Last I knew comes to Villages 1 day per week.

[Pat Reilly]

Tri County Orthopedic Dr Kerina..352-753-9105...765 Hwy 466' Lady Lake..office near Rolling Acres Rd & 466..
My husband ended up only needing a partial knee replacement..great experience..he is back on the basketball courts..thanks to Dr Kerina

[raynan]

Dr. Stephen Nguyen, office in Maitland and now in Orlando on Turkey Lake Dr. near Universal. He closed The Villages office. I had my knee surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago and I'm doing great. My knee is the 23rd one he has done in my neighborhood and everyone has had great results. He's doing my other one on 10/24. You will wait a long time for an appointment and then several months for your surgery but it is worth the wait due to much less pain and shorter recovery time. If you are on Medicare, you will be in the hospital overnight (Medicare requires it). If you are under 65 you will be day surgery. I was out of surgery at 12:25 and walking out the door at 3pm. In home PT and RN for 1 week and outpaitient PT over off of Rolling Acres Rd 3x a wk for 6 weeks. I was on a walker for 2 days and then on a cane. I already have 105 degree angle and full extension and walk with a regular gait.

[roswellnmgirl]

Thank you so much - I called his office this PM and they said he is no longer coming to The Villages - that he practices near Universal Studios - I appreciate your reply.

[Polar Bear]

Consider Dr. Duke in Ocala also, at least if you're considering replacement surgery. One night in hospital. Quick recovery. Excellent results. He's done over 1,000 replacements.

[roswellnmgirl]

Thank you - I am calling them now.

[roswellnmgirl]

great info on the hospital ratings - I will use this too

[Bonny]

Definitely Tri County Orthopedics. Dr Kerina is awesome. All of the Drs. there are wonderful !

[K9-Lovers]

Just had two total knee replacements done by Dr. Nguyen who works near Orlando. He does not cut muscles or tendons. Mine was done outpatient. I was walking the same day as surgery and dancing on the squares in 3 weeks. While in Physical Therapy afterward, I talked with people who had the traditional surgery where they cut muscles and they were weeks and weeks with pain and rehab. I was off pain meds in one week. Do yourself a favor and use Dr. Nguyen. Its worth the drive.

[K9-Lovers]

https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/y4/r/-PAXP-deijE.gif

This is me 6 days after my second total knee replacement by Dr. Nguyen in Orlando.

[Polar Bear]

I have no doubt that Dr. Nguyen is excellent. But I will admit that it bothers me a little when some of his patients talk about the quick recovery, lack of pain, etc. like results from no other doctors compare. That's simply not the case.

I had a prescription for pain meds that I never used or needed. I was out of the hospital after one night. I was walking...with a walker of course...one day after surgery. Less than three months later I was (cautiously and with doctor's approval) bowling, playing golf and softball, and riding my bike.

Do yourself a favor and consider your options.

[784caroline]

I had both knees done by Dr Nguyen (Dec 2014 and May 2015). Each time the pain level was no more than a tooth ache...yes I did take pain meds for the first week or 2 but bottom line was the pain was minimal. Pain meds also helped me sleep and with the PT. I was walking un-aided (no walker no cane) 2-3 days after surgery. Now I didn't do anything dumb....I went to PT faithfuly, did home exercises, and did not rush into golf or other activities although I did start golf at 7 weeks.

I definitely would recommend Dr Nguyen

[Azag1111]

Dr kerina is great did both my knees last year I was up and walking the next day and very little pain...he internally freezes your knee so very little discomfort and none with pain pills and they set up daily home care nurse and rehap and walking by the next day...he only does knees and he designed the implants..he is always doing seminars here in the villages about it..you can find it in the daily sun

[Polar Bear]

... I didn't do anything dumb....I went to PT faithfuly, did home exercises, and did not rush into...activities...

Excellent advice regardless of which doctor you choose!

[zonerboy]

Not familiar with local orthopedists, but....
Smaller incision means less exposure within the joint itself. So that must mean different hardware is implanted.
"No muscle or tendon cutting" equals less pain, shorter rehab. Sounds good but there must be a trade off some where. So basically I would want answers to two questions:
1) why doesn't everyone do the procedure this way???
2) how is the "new" joint going to look 5 to 10 years out??? I.e. How long does it hold up before further work???
I'm not trying to be critical, but it would really like to know the answers to my questions.
PS I am a retired anesthesiologist.

[784caroline]

Not familiar with local orthopedists, but....
Smaller incision means less exposure within the joint itself. So that must mean different hardware is implanted.
"No muscle or tendon cutting" equals less pain, shorter rehab. Sounds good but there must be a trade off some where. So basically I would want answers to two questions:
1) why doesn't everyone do the procedure this way???
2) how is the "new" joint going to look 5 to 10 years out??? I.e. How long does it hold up before further work???
I'm not trying to be critical, but it would really like to know the answers to my questions.
PS I am a retired anesthesiologist.

Dr Nguyen uses for most patients the Stryker "get around knee"...the same knee available to all Surgeons who replace knees. My incisions are approx. 5-6 inches in length on the side of the knee cap. However one thing that Nguyen does that many other Drs do not, is he offers you the option of doing a blood test (not a patch test) for metal allergies. This test cost approx. $200-250 and may not be reimburseable by insurance. In most cases the test comes back negative and you will get the Stryker knee. BUT if it does come back positive you would then get a ceramic knee to avoid any allergic reaction to the metal down the road. You can read other posts on TOTV about the problems that can occur when someone has an allergic reaction to the metal knee...NOT good. So technically the knee put in place by Dr Nguyen should last the same as the other knees put in place by other Drs.

Why don't other Drs do it from the side which spares cutting muscle and ligaments?? Simple answer is They were trained the old fashion way and it would take too much time and effort away from their successful practice to learn a new technique which is totally different than how they are used to doing business. If you go to Dr Nguyens' seminar or his web site, you will see how and why he developed this new technique..As a young Doctor he saw knee replacement patients in much pain and his goal was to reduce or eliminate pain from the equation.

Another suggestion for anyone considering knee replacement surgery is to go to the Dr waiting room and talk to patients who have just recently had the operation performed and get their first hand views. Another place to go is local PT facilities and talk to PT's and patients getting their perspective on who is doing the best regarding Total Knee Replacement surgeries.

[billds567]

Played 18 holes of golf 22 days after Dr. Nguyen's replacement.

[K9-Lovers]

Dr. Nguyen is a pioneer. His background was saving limbs that other doctors could not.

The knee hardware is the same as other doctors, he simply inserts the hardware from the side, not the front and therefore does not cut through your muscles and tendons. He numbs the inside of your knee so pain is so minimal!

My procedure on both knees was outpatient.

Please do yourself a favor and at least check this out.

[slipcovers]

Not familiar with local orthopedists, but....
Smaller incision means less exposure within the joint itself. So that must mean different hardware is implanted.
"No muscle or tendon cutting" equals less pain, shorter rehab. Sounds good but there must be a trade off some where. So basically I would want answers to two questions:
1) why doesn't everyone do the procedure this way???
2) how is the "new" joint going to look 5 to 10 years out??? I.e. How long does it hold up before further work???
I'm not trying to be critical, but it would really like to know the answers to my questions.
PS I am a retired anesthesiologist.

I am with you on this, I had TKR 2 years ago. Robotic and computer assisted by doctor. Smaller incision, muscle is pulled to one side. However, this is major surgery, with general and a femur block. No real pain after due to med and block, as you know. I did spend 3 days in the hospital, this is major surgery, cutting bone etc. Careful monitoring BP, fluids, and infections. Also did very light PT, walking and how to go upstairs. Believe me, this is not day surgery. A cane should also be used as long as you are taking pain med, it is very bad to fall.

I was in to my doctor yesterday for consult on having my other knee done and I asked him about the Stryker knee and he said "junk", the company has had hundreds of both hip and knee recalls. I did notice that they no longer have ads of their "get around knee" on TV.


These are the best videos that I have found on orthopedic procedures. If you want knee, choose and then choose from list ....TKR is last on list. Very informative.
Http://www.southshoreorthopedics.com/your-procedure-in-3d/