Your Surgeon Can Make the Difference

Patsy Wessel had two very different knee replacement experiences with two surgeons.

Patsy Wessel of Oilton had a positive knee replacement ­operation with Dr. Ronald LaButti.

When Patsy Wessel, 72, of Oilton, Oklahoma, had knee replacement surgery with Dr. Ronald S. LaButti this past March, she was coming off a ­prior knee surgery. The difference in the two procedures, she says, was like night and day.

    “I had already had one ­surgery done, and it was very painful,” Wessel says. “I didn’t have a good experience with my first doctor, and I didn’t feel like my physical therapist did a very good job either. But with Dr. LaButti, it was very ­different. I had a very good experience with him.”

    Wessel’s knee problems developed gradually, over decades, she says. “I’m 72 years old, and I’m in my 34th year in my job, where I walk and stand on cement. I have four children, and where I lived had cement floors. I’ve worked hard in my life, you know? You just wear your knees out.”

    Wessel says the knee replacement with Dr. LaButti was an immeasurably better experience than her previous surgery. “Yes, I had pain – it’s always painful. But for a knee replacement, it was significantly better,” she says. “I had much less pain. It was a good ­experience. Dr. LaButti told me that the surgery went perfectly, and I believe it. In a short time, I was able to get up and walk without so much pain because of how well it was done. I wasn’t even on my cane or walker more than a week before I could walk by myself.”

    A big part of Wessel’s good experience was her knee ­rehabilitation. Dr. LaButti ­prescribed a continuous passive motion machine for physical therapy, and Wessel says it worked wonders. “Dr. LaButti sent me home with this machine: for two hours, three times a day, you put your leg in it, and it raises and works your knee. It worked wonderfully, and it doesn’t hurt.”

    Wessel says her first doctor didn’t use that machine. “He had someone physically doing it, and they can hurt you. Sometimes I was crying by the time they finished. But with the machine, it didn’t hurt, and it kept the knee limber. It worked so well.”

    Overall, Wessel says, her experience was exceptional. “The hospital was excellent. Dr. LaButti was excellent, and he was very nice. I’ve already ­recommended Dr. LaButti to a number of people, and I would recommend him to anyone.” For more information on Dr. LaButti or knee or hip replacement surgery, visit www.hipandkneedoc.com.For more information, contactDr. Ronald S. LaButti6585 S. Yale, Ste. 200Tulsa, OK 74136 (918) 528-4780

www.hipandkneedoc.com