Robotic surgery gets half-marathoner on the road again

At age 68, Paula Daoust is an avid runner. She’s run a total of 150 half-marathons — each a distance of 13.1 miles — including one in every state. When she began to experience debilitating knee pain, Daoust did everything she could to avoid hanging up her running shoes for good.

“I couldn’t go for a walk or go shopping for more than 10 minutes without having to sit down due to the pain,” she said. “To be able to run, I’d have to tape my knee but I’d end up in a lot of pain afterward. The idea of not being able to run was too depressing, so I kept trying a variety of things.”

Daoust coped with the pain for nearly five years until a friend made the suggestion to see an orthopedic physician. Hoping that she would be able to continue to run, she turned to LMH Health OrthoKansas for help.

Diagnosing the pain

Daoust saw James Huston, MD, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in knee and hip replacement.

“X-rays showed that Daoust had bone-on-bone arthritis on the inner (medial) aspect of her knee, with well-maintained joint spaces in the rest of the knee,” Dr. Huston said.

Because her pain was located on the inner part of the knee and imaging confirmed the arthritis was isolated, she was an excellent candidate for a partial knee replacement. In this surgery, a section of bone from one part of the knee joint is removed and replaced with an implant.

“When there’s arthritis and/or pain in other areas of the knee, a total knee replacement is typically a better surgical option,” Dr. Huston explained. “A partial replacement is less invasive, typically has a quicker recovery period and feels more like a natural knee because all of the knee ligaments are preserved.”

Robotic replacement

In June 2021, Dr. Huston performed Daoust’s partial knee replacement using the MAKO robotic arm, an instrument used to perform partial and total knee replacements, as well as total hip replacements.

LMH Health has two MAKO robots to serve patients — one at the Main Campus and the other at the West Campus. The robots, which were funded in part by donor support through the LMH Health Foundation, have been proven to facilitate a shorter hospital stay, typically less pain and quicker return to function.

“The MAKO system can be more precise than traditional surgical techniques,” Dr. Huston said. “The system allows us to create a personalized plan for each patient. The arm allows us to place the joint more precisely and cause less damage to soft tissues and surrounding structures, which can lead to less pain, less need for pain medication and quicker recovery times.”

Daoust said that pain disappeared quickly after the surgery. She stopped taking pain medication within three days, opting for Tylenol, a cold therapy machine and relaxation exercises for the muscles in her legs.

“I used the walker for one day, progressed to crutches and then a cane. Within two weeks, I was walking on my own and driving a car,” she said.

After spending six weeks in physical therapy, Daoust is getting back to her old form — running a race with her husband every weekend and competing in at least 10 half-marathons since her surgery. She’s also beginning to reduce the time she needs to run those 13.1 miles, recently clocking in at 3:08, about half an hour shy of her pre-surgical times.

“I’m so excited to be able to do what I love without the pain,” Daoust said. “I can’t recommend OrthoKansas enough. It’s all been amazing, from the robotics to the people on staff. They understand and are supportive of people who want to stay active. It’s the small details like having your meds available as you walk out the door because the pharmacy is there. The follow up calls, checking in with me — I felt that I was supported through the entire journey.”