One Northern Michigan man is pain-free after having ankle replaced
PETOSKEY, MI -- Imagine living with constant pain for more than forty years and then one day finally being able to get rid of that pain.
That's the case for one Northern Michigan man who found a doctor to help him become pain-free.
He tells us about the doctor and the one-of-a-kind procedure that's now being done in Northern Michigan.
"It started with an automobile accident in 1964," said Tom Ogden.
Since then, Ogden has been in constant pain. He broke his tibia and fibula in the accident 46 years ago, and last year when he tweaked his ankle, the pain became unbearable. He couldn't go to the mailbox without having excruciating pain. That's when he met Doctor Scott Nemec, a new doctor that moved to the area 10 months ago and was an orthopedic specialist.
"Mr. Ogden came in with pretty severe ankle pain which was limiting his function, his ability to perform activities that he enjoyed performing," said Dr. Nemec.
Dr. Nemec said Ogden essentially had two options: 1) live with it, or 2) have something done. He wanted to go with a new procedure...total ankle replacement. Doctor Nemec is the only doctor north of Grand Rapids certified to perform this new surgery.
“Looked on the internet and saw what this replacement was, and it was so much better than the that had come before it, I thought, boy, go for it!" said Ogden.
"You can see after the ankle replacement, the bone spurs are gone and the metal components are in association with the plastic component in the middle, and as a result, he has increased range of motion and essentially no pain in his ankle," said Dr. Nemec.
The FDA approved the procedure in 2005, and since, more than 1500 ankle replacements have been surgically implanted. Doctor Nemec says only five of those have been documented failures.
Because of the success of the implants, and the durability they offer, the procedure is becoming increasingly popular.
"Mr. Ogden is doing well, and pretty much immediately after the surgery, the pain he was having from arthritis was gone," said Nemec.
"It's just too good to be true, that's the way I feel about it, it's just too good to be true," said Ogden.
Ogden says he stills lives with a limp, which he's working on, but the pain is gone.
Mr. Ogden had the procedure done on March 1st.
He says it took about two months until the implant fused into his bone before he could walk normally on it.
