Mind & Body
Surgeon Dr. Paul Fenn checks out Laudrey Darbonne’s new ankle.
Getting Back Into Step LAUDREY DARBONNE MAY BE MATURE IN HER YEARS, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN SHE HAS ANY PLANS TO STROLL ALONG LIFE’S PATH. HOWEVER, UNBEARABLE PAIN FROM ARTHRITIS IN HER ANKLES WAS KEEPING HER DOWN. There was a crunch when she walked. The cartilage cushion in her ankles was gone. Her selfdescribed walking pattern was that of a duck. “It was pretty bad,” the 76-year-old recalls. “I was on medication the whole time. I could only take so much pain medicine a day, apply a heating pad and stay off of it as much as I could.” Laudrey had enough of the pain. So, she went to see orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Paul Fenn with Orthopaedic Specialists, a part of the Memorial Medical Group. Dr. Fenn offered her a new and improved way to be rid her of the joint pain, the STAR™ Total Ankle Replacement. He is the only doctor in the Lake Charles and Lafayette areas certified to offer this type of treatment to patients. “The performance of these implants is now up to the level of knee and hip replacement technology,” Dr. Fenn says. “The replacement is a great way to get pain relief and maintain function.” 66 www.thriveswla.com
Laudrey had her most troublesome ankle replaced first and it worked so well that she wanted the other one done right away. Dr. Fenn gave her four months to recover and then replaced the other ankle. Ankle implants were first used back in the 50s and 60s, but were not of good quality. The gold standard was to fuse the ankle, which took away the motion and drastically changed a person’s walking pattern. All of the technology that developed with the knee and hip replacements allowed for ankle implants to be improved. Dr. Fenn says implants now have a more than 90 percent survival after 10 years and there is data that even suggests the implants will last longer than that. “It’s such a small joint so all of your body weight is going through such a small area. The implants, though tiny, can withstand a lot of force,” Dr. Fenn says. “In order for these implants to not fail they had to have advanced designs, materials and tolerances to allow Thrive Magazine for Better Living
for them to survive. Every one I have put in is still in.” There are similar restrictions like you would have with any knee or hip replacement. However, nonimpact sports such as cycling, skiing and swimming are perfectly okay to do. The results are a night and day difference for Laudrey. She now has a life without pain, is free of dependence on medication and can continue to live to the fullest. “I’m real please with the way things are going. I’m not the kind of person to just sit around and have somebody wait on me,” she says. “That’s pretty much what I had to do until now, but now I’m ready to go dancing again!” For more information contact Orthopaedic Specialists at (337) 494.4900.
December 2013