Digging Life Again After High-Tech Knee Surgery

Pamela Boe, 50, had lived with knee pain for years when she decided enough was enough.

She researched several hospitals to determine where to have knee replacement surgery. When she saw that Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center offered MAKOplasty, a robotic, minimally invasive option for knee replacement, her choice became clear.

The Dickerson, Maryland, resident said she had been living “like a 90-year old. I was having trouble with stairs, bending over to tie my shoes – it’s been so hard. I’m choosing a higher quality of life. I know this [surgery] will get me there.”

After scheduling her procedure with orthopedic surgeon Mark Peterson, MD, Pamela attended The Joint Workshop at Shady Grove Medical Center to learn from the orthopedic care team what to expect before, during and after surgery.

She initially wondered how useful a class would be but now says it was the best thing she could have done to prepare for surgery: “The class took my slight trepidation about the process and made it not only something I was comfortable with, but I actually started looking forward to the replacement.”

About a week after her surgery, Pamela regained range of motion in her left knee – much sooner than she had experienced with her traditional knee surgery four years ago at another hospital.

And now, just a few months after surgery, Pamela is back to doing what she loves – spending time with her family, gardening at her home in upper Montgomery County and hiking the trails of nearby Sugarloaf Mountain.

“The fact that I am able to get down on both knees in my garden just three months after surgery is crazy,” she said. “I haven’t been able to do this in over a decade.”

Pamela was so pleased with the results of her knee surgery that she came back to Shady Grove Medical Center in August to have her hip replaced by Brett Hampton, MD.

Pamela is not alone in her praise of Shady Grove Medical Center, which is recognized as a leader in joint replacement surgery and has been awarded The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for hip and knee replacement. The medical center’s board-certified orthopedic surgeons perform hundreds of surgeries every year – each to The Joint Commission’s high standards for quality and safety. They are backed by a comprehensive care team that is focused on restoring patients’ full mobility.