An avid distance runner for nearly 40 years, Jim has participated in seven marathons, more than 30 half marathons and several other shorter races; eventually, the wear and tear on his body started to cause pain in his hips and knees. When the pain became more constant and started to affect his quality of life and active lifestyle, he began his treatment journey, and in the past eight years Jim has had both hips and knees replaced at Central Indiana Orthopedics.
Jim initially sought treatment for his hip pain by visiting CIO Muncie where he saw Dr. Ken Haller and was diagnosed with two arthritic hips. From there, he was referred to Dr. Brent Damer to discuss treatment options, and they decided that a conservative approach was the best place to start. But after injections and therapy provided minimal pain relief, Jim knew a hip replacement was the next step.
Jim had his left hip replaced in August 2016 using the Mako robot as an outpatient procedure. Dr. Damer explained that Mako enables patients to have a more personalized surgical experience. Before surgery, a CT scan is used to plan the procedure and provide the surgeon with more information about the patient’s anatomy. During surgery, Mako’s AccuStop technology guides the surgeon to cut precisely what is planned to help protect the patient’s healthy tissue.
After a successful hip replacement, from there it was a domino effect of having Dr. Damer fix Jim’s other joints that failed conservative treatments: March 2021 (left knee), September 2023 (right knee), April 2024 (right hip).
Of Jim’s joint replacements, two were performed outpatient in CIO’s surgery center and two at Ascension St. Vincent Anderson hospital. Dr. Damer used Mako robotic-arm assisted technology during all the procedures.
“My experience at Central Indiana Orthopedics has been a great, and I could not be more pleased with Dr. Damer,” Jim said. “He’s knowledgeable, empathetic and an excellent surgeon.”
Since Jim’s joint replacements, he’s put distance running aside but now enjoys walking, cycling and leading an active and relatively pain-free life. “I wholeheartedly recommend Central Indiana Orthopedics for anyone needing orthopedic care,” Jim said. “While I wouldn’t want to relive the past eight years, I’m most grateful for CIO, Drs Damer and Haller and their staff. Muncie and central Indiana are blessed to have a practice of CIO’s size and scope for orthopedic needs.”
Learn more about joint replacement at Central Indiana Orthopedics, including Mako robotic-arm assisted technology, at ciocenter.com/services/surgery-revision/.