Not Just Any Knee Doc

Patient Judy Bates raves about her orthopedic surgeon Dr. LaButti, who performed her life-changing knee replacement operation.

Judy Bates lived with knee pain for many years before receiving a total knee replacement from Dr. Ronald LaButti.

When Judy Bates of Chelsea, Okla. had Dr. LaButti perform a replacement on her right knee in March, she had two main goals – to walk without a limp and to walk up and down stairs normally.
    “For years, I had to take one stair at a time, and my job requires a lot of walking,” says Judy, who works as a customer service representative at the new Cherokee Casino in Ramona.
    Dr. LaButti was recommended to Judy by co-workers who had gone to the orthopedic surgeon with various problems and had achieved great results. Judy had experienced knee problems for decades, after being in gymnastics in high school and experiencing many injuries, and then a major injury to her knee when she was 16. “I have been on crutches too many times to count,” Judy relates. “I was a hairdresser for 30 years, and I can’t tell you how many times I had to go to work on crutches.”
    Getting around in recent years had become so difficult for her that she was prescribed medication for the pain. Judy knew she needed surgery but didn’t want to be operated on by the doctor she was seeing at the time. After hearing about Dr. LaButti at work, she saw his ad in the newspaper one day. Then the next day, she heard a radio advertisement, as well as read a story about one of his patients. “I figured this was a divine message!” she says with a laugh.
    Judy made an appointment with Dr. LaButti and was impressed with his professionalism and attention to details. “He was very honest with me about the procedure and what to expect,” she says. “He told me I would have about six weeks of pain, by the ninth week I would be glad I did it, and by the twelfth week I would be back to work.”
    Judy was amazed at the truth of Dr. LaButti’s words and at her recovery. At ten weeks, she and her husband took a trip to North Carolina to see their son and his family. While they were there, she walked up a three-quarter mile hill in a mountainous area and relates, “My knee did not give me any pain at all.” The group also visited the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, and Judy was able to enjoy every minute of it. “I climbed up and down every ladder they had, from bridge to engine room, all 15 decks,” she recalls. “And then we went in the submarine and did the same thing.”
    Judy has returned to work in good health, but she feels that with her history of injuries, her other knee will probably eventually have to be replaced as well. She is not worried, however. “I will go straight back to Dr. LaButti when the time comes,” she says. “He is so very knowledgeable – he gives you confidence from the very beginning.”

For more information, contact

Dr. Ronald S. LaButti

(918) 528-4780