At Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic, we strive to fulfill our promise of serving our patients with the high quality care. Over the years, we have worked hard to ensure success in helping our patients heal and live free of pain. We, at LSMC, have decided to create a new program to highlight some of our patient success stories. Our inaugural Patient Success Story comes from the experience of George Newsome, Jr., who injured his knee and found relief at Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic. LSMC is proud to showcase George Newsome, Jr. as our inaugural success story. We would like to thank George for sharing his story with us.
George’s story begins in 2006, when he first injured his knee during his daily work activities. He went to see an orthopedic surgeon, who recommended rehabilitation. However, George felt that his knee never healed correctly. Fast forward to 2017, when George injured his knee at work again. This time, he was lifting heavy railroad ties. When he went into a squat to begin lifting, he heard a loud “POP” and a sharp pain in his knee. After this injury, his knee had swollen to four times its normal size. His knee felt extremely unstable, like it was going to give out from under him. George began receiving lubrication injections to relieve the pain. They worked temporarily, but the relief didn’t last. Tired of dealing with the pain, George decided to pay a visit to Dr. Puig at Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic. Dr. Puig performed some tests on George’s knee, and told him it was likely that there was internal damage. He ordered an MRI and, from the results, found that the meniscus had been torn and there was some degeneration of the cartilage. Dr. Puig referred George to a high profile orthopedic surgeon in San Antonio, who recommended more exercise to strengthen the muscles around the knee to provide support. George felt disappointed when the surgeon didn’t pay much attention to the MRI results he was provided. He returned to Dr. Puig with his concerns. It was then that Dr. Puig recommended that George make an appointment to see Dr. Anish Potty, Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic’s in-house Orthopedic Surgeon.
Dr. Potty delivered the same diagnosis as Dr. Puig, and recommended surgery as soon as possible. Frustrated with the pain and nursing a still-swollen knee, George agreed. Before surgery, Dr. Potty let George know that if he found something else wrong during the surgery, he would let him know and they would discuss the next step. Dr. Potty performed an Arthroscopic Meniscus Repair on George’s knee, and after surgery, Dr. Potty informed George that during the surgery he realized that George needed an entirely new knee. The problem was that George couldn’t find a surgeon willing to perform a knee replacement on such a young guy. Due to this problem, Dr. Potty did some research and suggested another option. In November 2017, Dr. Potty performed an Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation and Bio-Cartilage Repair on George’s right knee. This involves removing the damaged cartilage and replacing it with healthy cartilage taken from a donor. During the healing process, the healthy cartilage graft fuses with the bone, making the knee like new without having to replace the knee altogether. Going into the surgery, George prepared himself for a long and difficult recovery. He was told the healing process would take 8-12 months. However, he felt that was a small price to pay for a life with less pain and without the worry of having to replace his knee again in 20 years. After six months of recovery time, George was allowed to return to work. He had another surgery on his left knee, so he has to stick to administrative work for now. George is happy to be able to walk around with the confidence he did not have before surgery – confidence that Dr. Potty at Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic gave him. Although he is still feeling some pain during the healing process, George states,
“Once the bone started healing and fusing together, the difference was night and day.”
He felt a huge difference in the severity of pain after his surgery.
George feels very optimistic that this procedure will provide him with a lasting result. He feels thankful to Dr. Potty for his willingness to try new procedures and bring that innovation and knowledge to the people in our beautiful city of Laredo.
“It’s awesome to have a local doctor perform these surgeries and…go that extra mile to help someone regain their mobility,”
states George Newsome, Jr.
“We are blessed to have a doctor like Dr. Potty here.”
LSMC is proud to feature George Newsome, Jr. as our inaugural Patient Success Story for May 2018. We are so glad we could help George regain his confidence and mobility, so he can continue working and living his life to the fullest. At Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic, our goal is to provide our patients the highest quality of care with passion and compassion.
Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic is South Texas’ premier sports medicine and orthopedic care provider, located in Laredo, Texas.