Rejuvenated Joint Health

Despite debilitating joint pain, Joseph Durdaller, a 64-year-old artist from Long Island, has always felt young at heart. And, after undergoing orthopedic surgery at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, his joints feel better than ever.

When Joseph, a husband and father of five, finally scheduled an appointment at Englewood Hospital in March 2010, he had been living with joint pain for nearly four decades. Joseph injured his right knee several times while playing football in college, and a fall 20 years ago left his hip permanently damaged.

“I went to an orthopedist in my 20s, but I was too young to be considered for major joint replacement,” says Joseph. “So I endured the pain. My joints would throb and swell and were too painful to move by the end of most days.”

Unable to walk on his own because of debilitating knee and hip arthritis, Joseph knew it was time to reconsider orthopedic surgery. He met with David N. Feldman, MD, FAAOS, orthopedic surgeon at Englewood Hospital, who recommended a hip replacement first. Joseph underwent a direct anterior total hip replacement in June 2010 and was discharged the morning after surgery.

“Thanks to the use of a direct anterior approach using the special HANA® operating table available at Englewood Hospital, we didn’t have to cut any of the tendons that are normally cut in other approaches, allowing Joseph to experience a quick recovery,” says Dr. Feldman. “Almost immediately following the procedure, Joseph was able to get up by himself and put all his weight on his new hip.”

Joseph underwent a right knee replacement surgery three months later. He experienced another swift recovery due in part to the use of MRI-designed custom cutting blocks. Thanks to his joint replacements, Joseph can now enjoy painting, exercising at the gym, and spending time with his family without the constant pain he endured for 40 years.

“I’d been living with joint pain for so long, I couldn’t remember what it was like not to feel pain,” says
Joseph. “Thanks to Dr. Feldman and the outstanding staff at Englewood Hospital, I’m living pain free for the first time since college.”

Because of his religious convictions, Joseph Durdaller was concerned about finding a hospital that offered bloodless surgery when he needed a knee and hip replacement in 2010. Englewood Hospital and Medical Center offered him just that.

Since its inception in 1994, The Institute for Patient Blood Management and Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Hospital has performed thousands of high-risk procedures without the use of blood transfusions and has become a nationally recognized leader in patient blood management.

“As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it was important for me to have bloodless surgery,” says Joseph. “Everyone at The Institute understood my desire to be treated with bloodless techniques and was as devoted to that goal as I was.”