Page 42 - Hoag Orthopedic Institute 2014 Outcomes Report

“OUR AIM HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE TO GET OUR PATIENTS BACK TO THEIR DAILY ROUTINES AS QUICKLY AND SAFELY AS POSSIBLE.”
STEVEN BARNETT, MD, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON
PATIENT TESTIMONIALS CONTINUED
Surgery from the Other Side of the Scalpel
Few people on the planet know more about joint replacement surgeries than Alan Beyer, MD, executive medical director of Hoag Orthopedic Institute and a busy
orthopedic surgeon for more than three decades. Recently experiencing hip replacement surgery from the other side of the scalpel gave him greater understanding into the emotional as well as physical aspects of these procedures.
Dr. Beyer wasn’t eager to become a surgical patient, in spite of nagging pain. He’d been able to stand long hours in the operating room, walk miles while attending to patients, and swing a golf club – with medication.
“It’s what you do until you’ve exhausted other conservative therapies,” he says, “but I finally came to the realization I had to do something about the pain.”
Dr. Beyer recalls feeling relief just hours after having surgery. Within a few weeks, he was back to performing surgery and hitting the links. “I don’t think I realized how bad the pain was until it was gone,” he says. “I am walking 18 holes without one ounce of pain.”
See the rest of Dr. Beyer’s story at
www.orthopedichospital.com/beyer
Breaking Records at 95
through the pool is a desire to get stronger and to live longer.
Arthritis has taken the nonagenarian’s ability to stand up straight and causes pain in her hands and feet. It also led to a hip replacement two years ago that kept her from kicking across the pool – for about a month. “There were some big swim meets coming up that I didn’t want to miss, but my right hip was bone on bone,” she recalls.
“I was well taken care of at Hoag Orthopedic Institute,” continues Rita. “Everybody was so kind. They had me out of bed and moving the day after surgery.”
Rita started back in the water with two laps, then four, then 10. A year and a half later, she was again breaking records. If she lives to 100, she has every intention of breaking new records in that age division.
Read more of Rita’s story at
www.orthopedichospital.com/rita
Rita Simonton has set eight world records in swimming since turning 95 last year. What’s kept the International Masters Swimming
Hall of Famer lapping
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