DeAndrea Harmony & Lawrence Elliott
Lawrence Elliott has taken pride in his athleticism all his life. From shooting hoops and boxing to long distance running and constantly working to better his golf game, there wasn’t a day he wasn’t active or a season he was sedentary. So when knee pain in his 50s started impeding his quality of life to the point the pain had trouble getting in and out of bed, it was frightening.
“The pain would ping pong from one side of my body to the other. It became constant. Most people just call it getting older. But for a guy who is very active and is in the gym a lot, it started to really become a problem,” Lawrence said.
He didn’t know if he’d ever move again without pain, let alone one day walk down the aisle with his fiancee, DeAndra Harmony. And so began the journey of trying anything recommended to him to ease the pain. He had doctors drain the fluid in his knees. He bought special inserts for his shoes. He tried medications for inflammation. Nothing was working.
“I was scared that my whole way of life would have to change. I thought I would just have to live with it the rest of my life, I didn’t know there were any options,” said Lawrence.
But now, the happily engaged 58 year old who splits his time between Edgewater, NJ and Texas wants to tell everyone about the option that ultimately restored his active lifestyle. The answer for this avid athlete was a robotic double knee replacement, aided by the new TMINI handheld robot. Lawrence gives the credit to Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) and Dr. Yair Kissin, M.D., vice chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at HUMC. Dr. Kissin has led the way as HUMC, in partnership with THINK Surgical, in now offering robotically assisted knee replacement surgery with the TMINI Miniature Robotic System. And Lawrence was among the first patients to benefit.
“The TMINI System is a wireless robot the surgeon uses to help restore a patients’ mobility so they can return to enjoying their favorite activities. It helps us perform surgery without much extra equipment because it replaces many of the instruments we used for knee replacement surgery. Only about 20% of orthopedic surgeries are done robotically and the TMINI will change that. This device adds value and incredible precision. For this case it was a big deal because most robots are not easily flipped for bilateral cases. Since this one is mini and handheld, it was easy and seamless,” explained Dr. Kissin who recently presented the results of the procedure as an evolving technology at the Orthopaedic Summit in Las Vegas, a premier gathering of Total Joint (Knee, Hip, Shoulder), Foot & Ankle, Sports Medicine, Arthroscopic, Spine and Trauma Surgeons, Physician assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Athletic Trainers, Physical and Occupational Therapists from across the globe.
Dr. Kissin says one of the factors that made this seamless was the dedication of the patient to get himself in excellent shape prior to the surgery.
“I did my best to reactivate a healthy lifestyle. While I was in pain I gained a lot of weight and was a lot less mobile. Before the surgery, I changed my diet to lose weight and bring down my blood sugar and cholesterol. I knew dropping weight would help me rehabilitate and recover much faster,” Lawrence said.
And he was right. Just weeks after his late-September surgery, Lawrence is ahead of the expected recovery for a double knee replacement. Not only is he thrilled by the outcome and amazed by the technology used in his case, he hopes to be an example to other men in their 50s to stay motivated and prioritize their health.
“I want them to know you can get to this age and you can still thrive. You can still be vibrant. You can deal with these life changing operations and come out healthier on the other end. But you have to take care of yourself along the way.”
No longer needing a walker to assist him, he’s getting his steps in daily and actively planning a pain-free future with the woman of his dreams - a life coach and breast cancer survivor, who values fitness and a healthy lifestyle as much as he does.
“As his partner I had to look at how I can best support him. And one of the things I learned is you have to take care of yourself to take care of others. Self reliability, self accountability, it all empowers others to take care of themselves. Part of the motivation was understanding, you don’t have to get to a certain age and start windinding down,” DeAndrea Harmony said.
As Lawrence’s recovery continues, the couple is reminded of how far he has come in just a few weeks, recalling a time not long ago when his knee pain impeded his ability and desire to dance. They now look forward to dancing the night away at their wedding as plans for the ceremony and reception continue.
“Dr. Kissin and this procedure gave me my active life back. They gave me my future back” Lawrence said.
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