Breaking Free From the Brace

When Sophia says she is "never doing this again," she's talking about dislocating her knees—and after it happened on four different occasions during high school, no one can blame her.

Sophia had seen multiple doctors for her condition, endured rounds of physical therapy, and was finally fitted with a bulky brace that kept her from the active life she loved. It seemed like this temporary fix might be her new reality—until Sophia and her mom met White Plains Hospital orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Steven Andelman, who identified the underlying cause and offered a permanent solution.

"We discovered she didn't have grooves in her kneecaps, which caused painful dislocations," Dr. Andelman says. "This required a very advanced surgical procedure to create more functional grooves in her knees."

The complex procedure, called trochleoplasty, is performed to correct a congenital condition called trochlear dysplasia, where the groove is too shallow, flat, or misshapen, causing the kneecap to track improperly or repeatedly dislocate – as it did for Sophia again and again. Dr. Andelman is one of only a handful of surgeons in the country trained to perform it.

"Dr. Andelman was very calm and understanding," recalls Sophia's mother, Melissa. "He took the time to answer even the smallest questions, always called us back, and even FaceTimed with us. He explained everything about the surgery and made sure we were comfortable every step of the way."

"After my surgeries, I completed my rehab at Burke and they were terrific. But I hope I never go back there," Sophia laughs.

Now, she's thrilled to be active again. "I can't wait to join a bunch of teams in college," she says. "I love softball, basketball, volleyball…but mainly just being able to move again!"