Dr. V is a straight shooter—always willing to answer my questions, no matter how simple or how long the conversation needed to be. I never felt rushed, and he quickly earned my trust and respect. Definitely in the rock-star category.
John Willard, orthopaedic patientAfter more than 20 years of knee pain, John Willard is finally feeling some relief.
The 74-year-old seriously injured one of his knees about 40 years ago, causing on-and-off pain.
“There were periods when something as simple as walking across a level field to watch my son’s soccer game was very painful,” Willard said, “and other times I felt fine.”
In the last decade, the pain had become more frequent, limiting some of Willard’s activities and draining his energy. The pain worsened further over the last three years, severely limiting his mobility.
“Even simple things, like getting up to go outside or walking to another room in the house, became a major decision. More often than not, I chose to stay put,” said Willard, of Royalston, Mass.
In addition to the physical roadblocks his knee pain caused, it also affected Willard’s emotional state. He said it was hard to watch his physical abilities, energy and overall confidence steadily decline.
To help alleviate the pain, he tried a couple rounds of steroid injections in both knees, followed by gel injections in both. Though this provided slight relief, it didn’t fix his mobility.
Looking for a more permanent solution, he turned to Cheshire Medical Center’s Orthopaedics team. Since late January, Willard has undergone two knee replacements using Cheshire’s robotic surgery technology, performed by Vivek Venugopal, MD.
“It’s been extremely rewarding to see John doing so well after his surgeries,” Venugopal said. “In doing both of his knee replacements with the robotic system, it allowed us to place his knee replacement in a patient-specific manner that’s more tailored to his specific anatomy.”
These surgeries were Willard’s first major operations, so he admitted he was a bit nervous before the first procedure. However, he said his experience at Cheshire “has been nothing less than excellent.”
“Dr. V is a straight shooter—always willing to answer my questions, no matter how simple or how long the conversation needed to be. I never felt rushed, and he quickly earned my trust and respect,” Willard said. “Definitely in the rock-star category.”
Following his procedures, he said recovery has been swift—one of the several proven benefits of utilizing robotic tools during surgery. Now, Willard is focused on sessions with our Physical Therapy team and getting back to doing more of what he loves.
“My son and I are already planning some hikes and long walks,” he said.