The Joint Replacement Prep Class is a patient readiness empowerment program that focuses on easing the tension between patient and joint surgery while educating on the days leading up to treatment, what to expect during surgery, and post-operation care.
The program takes place at Comanche County Memorial Hospital and is led by the ortho coordinator Diana Marin.
“Basically, from the time they’ve decided to have a joint replacement, that’s when I will reach out and make a phone call. We call that the introduction call. I will get them scheduled for their next joint prep class. then I will meet them in prep class, in person, and then I will begin following them all the way through,” said the coordinator.
She recommends all patients in need of joint surgery take the class, and she says she’s even noticed that after patients take the course, they feel 10 times better about proceeding with their operation.
66-year-old, Billy Chapman, is one of those patients who completed the course.
Billy lives a rather active life, and he says before his operation, he was experiencing pain in his hips, which he continued to ignore until one day it became too much.
He says thanks to the class, it made the process of surgery, easier.
“When I came over here to this class, right here, it put doubt to a lot of those anxiety and fears that I once had, and so it made everything a lot easier for me to decide that it was time,” said Mr. Chapman.
Dr. Clint Kirk, an orthopedic surgeon of more than 25 years, performed the surgery with the aid of a MAKO Robot. Not all surgeries require the use of a robot, but that’s why he recommends patients come in for a checkup earlier than later, so they don’t continue to experience their chronic pain.
“Mako robotics application affords the patient with the most extreme precise technology. It’s head and shoulders above the old way of doing things, the old standard cuts. We can actually make precision cuts and have early discharges, less pain, and less complications,” the doctor explained.
So, remember if you’re in need of surgery and are nervous about the experience, you can schedule your initial appointment with the orthopedic services, and get enrolled in the program.
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