Surgical history was made for Kankakee County last month when fellowship-trained joint reconstruction specialist Dr. Rajeev Puri of OAK Orthopedics performed the very first robotic knee replacement in the county.
Dr. Puri’s patient, David P., Bourbonnais local and active swimmer and cyclist, spent years tackling his knee pain and staying active. In November, he and Dr. Puri decided surgery would be the best solution.
“The decision to have Dr. Puri perform the surgery was rather easy. His reputation as a skilled surgeon is well-known in this area. Almost everyone I talked to knew of him,” said David. “Even when I saw him in November, three people in the waiting room praised him. My wife, Helen, chose him for her knee surgery, and we have been his patients for many years.”
Dr. Puri also discussed the possibility of robotic assistance for David’s surgery. With training and experience in the state-of-the-art ROSA® system, Dr. Puri moved forward with this technology for David’s procedure, made only recently available at AMITA Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee.
"Dr. Puri informed me that there was a possibility that my surgery would be performed with a robotic assist," said David. "I was thrilled, as I know that even unassisted surgeries have a great success rate, but robotic-assisted technology offered greater precision, better alignment, and a less painful recovery."
On February 10, 2021, David became the first patient to undergo a robotically assisted knee replacement using the ROSA system at St. Mary’s Hospital. Just weeks since, David is feeling better every day.
"My pain level is decreasing each day, my range of motion is improving each week, and my outlook for a strong recovery is very bright," says David. "This summer, I am looking forward to continuing swimming and biking. I am also looking forward to taking hikes with my wife, and even working on my pickleball game!"
David is now back to cycling and has found some additional perks with his new knee.
“An unforeseen benefit of my knee replacement has been the elimination of pain I have battled periodically due to a bulging disc in my lower back,” explained David. “It has disappeared!”
If you’d like to speak with Dr. Puri or one of the many joint replacement experts at OAK Orthopedics to see if you’re a candidate for a robotic-assisted joint replacement, we encourage you to contact our team today by calling (815) 928-8050 or requesting an appointment online.