Peter Kohn was familiar with Bon Secours from his work as a hospice volunteer throughout the years. He thought his active lifestyle would keep him away from becoming a patient, though. However, the avid skier and tennis player became one of the nearly 1 million Americans who require a joint replacement each year – and two knee replacements at that.
Again, from his volunteer work, Peter says he knew Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital was a high-quality health care facility.
“They have professional, well trained, kind and compassionate people,” he adds.
This made his experience of undergoing two knee replacement surgeries with Matthew Dobzyniak, MD, with Bon Secours – Tuckahoe Orthopedics, a little smoother.
After living with severe bone-on-bone knee pain, Peter made the decision to get both knees replaced at age 65.
“Several of my tennis friends had used Dr. Dobzyniak for their knee replacements, so I had a very high degree of confidence in him,” Peter says.
Dr. Dobzyniak says, “knee replacement surgery, which can be performed as either an inpatient or outpatient procedure, is one of the most successful procedures performed. When medications, like ibuprofen and other NSAIDS, physical therapy, injections of corticosteroids and activity modification no longer allow a patient to continue their chosen activities and limit one’s quality of life, knee replacement should be considered.”
The entire team at both the outpatient surgical center and the hospital took excellent care of Pete, from check in, before and after surgery as well as when he stayed overnight for his second knee replacement.
“I was and now am still very athletic. The fact that I had both knees totally replaced within eight months of each other made it a difficult 2021,” Peter shares. “However, it has proven to be worth it as I have now returned to cycling, tennis, pickleball and snow skiing without the extreme bone-on-bone pain.”
Dr. Dobzyniak adds that recovery is a process that can take up to a year, but most patients are able to resume all activities by three months with greatly improved function.
Learn more about the orthopedic and sports medicine services we offered at Bon Secours.
