Knees for You Guide to Knee Replacement

Knee pain is something millions of Americans experience, but help may be on the way. Thirteen million people suffer from Osteo-arthritis. It's a degenerative bone disease that attacks the knee joints. Now a new treatment may help.

Paula Callahan used to run along this path, now she's just happy to be walking it.

Paula Callahan
"I would get a pain that would go down my leg right into my foot, and it just got to the point that I would have to sit down."

Toni Terantino also had severe knee pain. He found out, like Paula, he had Osteo-arthritis. But traditional treatments like physical therapy and painkillers didn't work.

Toni Terantino
"I tried cortisone injections they didn't work the swelling was still there. There was a lot of pain."

Because they were young, and the disease had not progressed too far, both were perfect candidates for a new treatment called Synvisc. Doctors take out the so-called "bad" knee fluid - that's causing the inflammation and replace it with a non-drug treatment that's similar to the fluid in a healthy knee.

Dr. Brian McKeon, Orthopedic Surgery, Inc.
"The whole idea of Synvisc is to inject it into the knee and re-establish normal protective lubricative and sort of shock-exorbing effects back into the knee."

The treatment consists of three injections over 15 days. Its effects last up to 8 to 15 months. The whole idea is to help people reduce pain and avoid knee replacement.

Dr. Brian McKeon
"Someone, who is 35, 45, you want to avoid that if at all possible. You want them to have their own knee."

Both Toni and Paula agree and are thrilled with the results.

Toni Terantino
"After the second shot, most of the pain was gone."

Paula Callahan
"I've actually had days when I've forgotten I had a bad knee."

Dr. McKeon says the best candidates for Synvisc are patients in their mid-40's, who are very active and have moderate arthritis. The treatment usually doesn't benefit patients with advanced arthritis.

Perseus Athletics™ is the vision of Brian P. McKeon, MD, a talented orthopedic  surgeon and sports medicine specialist. The company's growing line of athletic  training aids and wellbeing products reflect Dr. McKeon's expertise,  creativity and experience.

"In my sports medicine practice, I treat professional athletes, ballet dancers  and a range of individuals who run, play tennis and generally live active  lifestyles," says Dr. McKeon, an orthopedic surgeon at New England Baptist  Hospital in Boston, one of the top orthopedic hospitals in the U.S.  "I understand the importance of proper biomechanics and the role of
conditioning in injury prevention."

As chief medical officer and Team Physician for the Boston Celtics, Dr. McKeon  works with elite athletes. "These are individuals who take their bodies to the  limit," he says. "But I see a lot of stress injuries in my practice. They can  happen to anyone." Dr. McKeon's vision is expansive: he applies his sports  medicine expertise to the corporate world, where he consults on return to work  and occupational health issues, and he takes his research interests into the lab,  where he studies articular cartilage-the smooth tissue that lines the joints.

He expanded his knowledge of cartilage transplantation during a research  sabbatical in Sweden with Lars Petersson, MD, who established the field.  Dr. McKeon currently participates in clinical trials of the technique at  New England Baptist Hospital. He also performs research on rotator cuff  repair that combines scaffolding with growth factors.

Today Dr. McKeon balances his scientific investigation with the development  of products that prevent injury and support athletic performance. The Perseus  Posture-Tek™ system, which represents a revolution in biofeedback technology,  is the result of extensive research by orthopedic surgeons and engineers.

"We know that poor posture leads to pain and injury," notes Dr. McKeon, "which  is why the Posture-Tek line has broad appeal, to everyone from laptop-users to  weight-lifters." When Dr. McKeon isn't in the OR, sitting courtside at the Boston  Garden, teaching the sports medicine fellows at the Baptist, authoring a new textbook  on knee arthroscopy or developing new concepts for Perseus Athletics, he is likely  to be golfing. An avid sportsman, Dr. McKeon is a six-handicap golfer who designed  and uses the Anchor™ golf training aid-Perseus' first product.

Since the ideas keep coming, Dr. McKeon launched Perseus Medical in order to develop ergonomic tools for surgeons like himself, who spend long hours in the OR.  He is affiliated with several professional societies, including The American  Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, the Arthroscopy Association of North America  and the NBA Team Physicians Society. "My interests-sports medicine, musculoskeletal  research and human performance-all come together at Perseus," says Dr. McKeon.

"I get to draw on the expertise of my renowned hospital colleagues while working  with talented industrial designers and mechanical engineers. Together, we're bringing  cutting-edge technology to the real world of sports medicine. The potential is unlimited."

Link to Perseus Athletics   http://www.perseusathletics.com/home.html