First Mako SmartRobotics™ Knee Patient at Area Hospital Gets Life Reboot With Dr. Erik Bowman
From living on the Front Range to getting through the last year, area residents know the value of overcoming obstacles and the importance of advances in healthcare. For Ron M., 60, father and school maintenance worker of Bennett, Colorado, a decade of living with knee pain was enough.
“I fell off a roof over 10 years ago and damaged both of my knees,” says Morgan. “I’d went to other orthopedic specialists before, and they kept turning me down for surgery.”
For years, Ron had wanted a knee replacement to get some relief, but he’d been told he was too young.
This January, after searching for a solution, he filled out an online appointment request form with BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine and was quickly meeting with fellowship-trained joint replacement Dr. Erik Bowman.
After Dr. Bowman listened to Ron and saw his X-rays, Ron was soon scheduled to be the first knee replacement patient using Good Samaritan Medical Center’s brand-new Mako SmartRobotics system in Lafayette.
“I think he’s just awesome,” said Ron of Dr. Bowman. “He came in there and said ‘Let’s get [your knees] fixed—you’re at an age where you need your knees.’ That’s something I’ve been waiting to hear from a doctor for over 10 years.”
On February 2, Ron had his surgery with Dr. Bowman using the added precision and accuracy of the Mako SmartRobotics system. After surgery, Ron said that one of the main differences, besides significantly decreased pain, was his ability to walk straight again.
“For years, I’ve been walking so gingerly on my knees just because they hurt so bad. My sciatic nerve would also flare up, so then I’d be walking even more funny, and then my hip would be hurting by the time I got very far down,” Ron said. “My daughter said I’d be walking down a hallway and my body would lean one direction, and everybody would be watching to see if I was going to go all the way across the hall and hit the wall because I was leaning so far to my left because that left knee was not working.”
Ron underwent therapy and was told he was weeks ahead in the program. He was back at work less than 4 weeks after surgery and has plans for a robotic knee replacement in his other knee this summer.
“I told Dr. Bowman that he couldn’t see it because I was wearing a mask, but I was smiling ear to ear talking with him about it all. In my world, it’s been the perfect thing to happen for me.”
If you’d like to speak with Dr. Bowman or one of the many joint replacement experts at BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine to see if you’re a candidate for a robotic-assisted joint replacement, we encourage you to contact our team today by calling 303.449.2730 or scheduling an appointment online.
