Keeping Up with the Grandchildren Again Post Knee Surgery

After Illa Kalish’s son had knee replacement surgery with Dr. Gruber, he urged his mother, who had been suffering from arthritis in the right knee to contact the office for a consultation. For the past year, Illa’s ability to walk dwindled to about a half-block’s distance, which made keeping up with her young grandchildren difficult to say the least.

He kept saying, “What do you have to lose, Mom?” Illa recalls. “And he was so right. Dr. Gruber and his staff took such great care of me. They made me feel special.”

Careful, Honest Medical Advice

After meeting with Dr. Gruber and undergoing an examination, Illa learned she had a partially torn meniscus in the knee as well as arthritis.

Meniscus is soft cartilage found in our knees. There are two sets of meniscus cartilage in each knee, and their primary job is to act as shock absorbers. In orthopedics, surgery is rarely a first step in pain management, especially if arthritis might be the source of the pain. So, Dr. Gruber recommended a cortisone injection as a first step to relieve arthritis inflammation.

When it became apparent that the injection provided limited relief, Dr. Gruber and Illa agreed that surgery was the appropriate choice. He performed partial medial and partial lateral meniscectomy surgery in September 2019.

Three months later, Illa is “thrilled” with the results. “I was able to walk almost right away,” she reports, “and can now walk as much as I need.”

She still has occasional arthritis pain, especially when it rains (thankfully, this is pretty rare in the Phoenix area!). She controls with exercises she learned during physical therapy with Dr. Gruber’s team. When necessary, she takes prescribed pain medication or receives a cortisone injection from Dr. Gruber’s practice.

And her grandchildren? Illa’s keeping up with them just fine.

“Unparalleled” Customer Service

In addition to receiving “the best outcome I could have hoped for,” Illa has tons of praise for Dr. Gruber and his staff. “The customer service at this practice is unparalleled,” she says. “Everybody there makes you feel like you are their primary concern.”

From injection treatment to post-op care and having her stitches removed, Illa says, she was treated with kindness and patience. Questions are answered, and calls are promptly returned. “I would recommend this practice to anyone,” she says. “Really, you just won’t find this combination of medical and surgery skills and customer service anywhere else!”