Focusing on You: Orthopaedic Surgery at UHealth
Quicker Recovery with Outpatient Knee Replacement
Victor Hugo Hernandez, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Miami Health System, discusses the many benefits of outpatient knee replacement surgery.
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Narrator: Focusing on you. Innovations in modern medicine from your team of experts at UHealth, the University Of Miami Health System.
Pam Giganti: A new approach to knee replacement from the orthopedic team at UHealth allows patients to go home the same day after surgery, making recovery safer and faster than ever before.
Dr. Victor Hugo Hernandez: We have changed the way we do the anesthesia and we have changed also our rehabilitation for the patient. Knee surgery normally takes around an hour or two hours. The same day the patients start physical therapy, and within four to six hours, patient can go home.
Pam Giganti: Orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Victor Hugo Hernandez, says improvements in surgical techniques are attracting patients younger than before. In May, he replaced the knee of former athlete, 56-year-old Rolando Zuccolillo.
Dr. Victor Hugo Hernandez: Four hours after surgery he was walking, doing fantastic.
Pam Giganti: Dr. Hernandez says Rolando’s new knee is likely to last up to 30 more years. Within just two months of surgery, he had already returned to an active lifestyle.
Rolando Zuccolillo: I still play three times a week basketball in a group of friends, and I love bicycling also. I try to do every weekend and go on a three, four-hour bicycle ride.
Pam Giganti: Rehabilitation is critical to recovery. Physical therapy is offered at multiple locations and includes a life skills gym at UHealth Tower, helping patients practice day to day tasks, such as getting in and out of the car. Dr. Hernandez says today 80% of the knee surgeries he performs are outpatient, a win for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Rolando Zuccolillo: I am very, very happy. I had the best experience
Tags: Dr. Victor Hernandez, knee injury, knee replacement, knee surgery
