Trudy Murphy
"Confidence is the word I would used to describe Dr. Presley. I mean he has the level of confidence that made me feel safe that I was in the right hands."
This is how Trudy Murphy described her experience with Dr. Terry Presley, orthopedic surgeon at Orthopedic Surgeons, Inc (OSI), and the surgical Robot; a tool that allows surgeons to see and perform total knee replacement at the level of precision that the human eye isn't capable of.
In June, 66-year-old Trudy underwent knee replacement surgery on her left knee followed by another replacement procedure on her right knee in late July.
"I had absolutely no cartilage left in either knee. My knees were bone on bone," said Trudy, who spent years working as the manager of a cleaning crew at the former Sprint (now T-Mobile) campus in Overland Park, Kan. "Because of years of wear on my knees, I also had significant bone erosion. It was only after I had a fall because my knees finally gave out that I knew the only option would be to undergo surgery."
After experiencing a fall earlier this year, Trudy became debilitated and was moved to a nursing home so that she could be taken care of around the clock.
When she learned about robotic total knee replacement, at first, she was slightly skeptical of the procedure; her 41-year-old son had even voiced his concerns. But from the time they met Dr. Presley and learned about the innovative techniques of the minimally invasive procedure, Trudy felt certain she was going to get the care she needed and that, without a doubt in her mind, she would be well taken care of.
"He's the type of physician who thinks of everything to make the lives of his patients better," she said.
"Trudy came to me with some of the worst knees I've ever seen and she was wheelchair bound. She had difficulties finding the right care she needed because she'd been in a nursing home and could barely walk," said Dr. Presley.
"After taking the time to talk to her, I had significant concern for spinal cord compression in her neck known as cervical myelopathy, which is a surgical emergency. I referred her to the ER where she had emergent cervical spine surgery. After recovering from this, I ended up replacing both of her knees. With the robot, her total knee replacements were easily executed while correcting her severe deformity, eliminating her pain and providing her with full range of motion. She is now back at home and walking without assistance."
Due to the severe deformity of her knees, there was a six-week recovery period between her first and second knee replacement. After both knee replacements, Trudy completed physical therapy in the nursing home where she had lived at the time; performing simple exercises to regain full motion and strengthen her legs once more.
"Since I moved back home in September, I have replaced physical therapy exercises with walking," Trudy said. "Because of this procedure and Dr. Presley, I can walk again, my knees don't look hideous anymore when I wear shorts, I have a defined knee cap again. This procedure truly changed my life."
