During a recent visit to ROC Orthopedics’ Tualatin location, FOX12 Oregon’s Good Day Living host Stephanie Kralevich sat down with Dr. John Coen to discuss how joint replacement has evolved.
With nearly 10,000 procedures performed, Dr. Coen explains how modern techniques, from improved anesthesia to less invasive surgical approaches like Jiffy Knee, are helping patients recover more quickly, often returning home the same day and getting back to their routines sooner than expected.
Stephanie Kralevich: ROC stands for Regenerative Orthopedic Center. Today we are at ROC’s Tualatin location to speak with Dr. John Coen, a Board-Certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knee and hip replacement surgeries.
Dr. Coen, between hip procedures and knee procedures, you have performed nearly 10,000 surgeries, but surgery has come a long way in recent years.
John Coen: It really has. Over the 29 years when I’ve accomplished all of those cases, it’s remarkable the progress that we’ve made.
Kralevich: A lot of people put off surgery because they dread all of the downtime, but recovery is a lot shorter these days.
Coen: The anesthesia has evolved so much that rather than thinking, “I need to go to sleep and spend days recovering,” you can have blocks and literally within minutes to a couple of hours after surgery, you have a clear mind.
Kralevich: Let’s talk hips first. You have people getting hip replacement surgery that are up and walking right afterward.
Coen: 80% of patients go home on the day of surgery and are comfortable walking distances of several hundred feet and can do their recovery and the comfort of their own home.
Kralevich: Now let’s talk about the Jiffy Knee because you used to have months of recovery before you could get back to what you loved doing after knee surgery. And now it’s very quick.
Coen: So it’s not a new implant, but it’s a new surgical approach that says if we are less traumatic to the quadriceps muscles on the front of the leg and they recover more quickly, the whole process is better.
Kralevich: Every ROC patient I talk to says, “Oh, I wish I would’ve gotten this procedure much sooner.” Do you get that a lot?
Coen: We do. And I tell people you don’t want to be miserable for an extended amount of time. Prolonged pain doesn’t make sense now. And if you get to the point where it’s disruptive of your lifestyle and those measures don’t help, surgery is a much better option.
Kralevich: And patients now have easy access to their surgeons thanks to new technology.
Coen: We have apps that will send messages. We have ways for them to send messages back. We have ways they can upload pictures pretty simply. It’s tailored to where are you comfortable? If you need the phone, we have people that can answer that. If you’re willing to do text messages, we can use those. If you want to do online things, we can do those. Whatever alternative is best for you that you’re comfortable with, we should accommodate.
Kralevich: To learn more about orthopedic care and recovery at Regenerative Orthopedic Center, visit rocpdx.com.