A Win Over Knee Pain

For Geri, her chronic 15-year knee pain had grown so severe that she knew it was time to address it surgically.

The former athlete and current social studies teacher coaches girls' volleyball. "I spend a lot of time on a hardwood floor, jumping around, and by the time practices were over, I would come home and literally have to go up the stairs using my hands," she says.

A referral to Dr. Mark Klion led to a regimen of knee gel shots in both knees, which she says "initially was fantastic. It worked really well for seven or eight years."

Their efficacy soon faded with Geri's knees locking on the court. "It got to the point where I couldn't move," she says. "I would have to unlock my knee when I stood up – and that pain was probably worse than anything I've had in my life."

Dr. Klion determined she had a bone bruise and a stress fracture in her left knee. "I tried coaching on crutches for a day; that didn't work" – which led to Dr. Klion's recommendation she see WPHPA orthopedic surgeon Dr. Isaac Livshetz.

When he offered a left knee replacement surgery, she had one question: "Am I going to be able to coach volleyball?" Assured that she would, she went forward with the procedure in March 2024.

"Dr. Livshetz did a partial interior knee replacement arthroscopically, which was so simple. I couldn't believe I was going up and down stairs with a walker just two hours after I woke up. I went home the same day."

"The Hospital is just fantastic," Geri adds. "The nursing staff is incredible, the service is just amazing from checking in through discharge. I cannot recommend the Hospital and Dr. Livshetz enough."