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Vietnam Veteran Total Knee Surgery Patient Returns to His Active Lifestyle

vietname vet total knee replacement

Patient Vaughn Perkins is a 3rd generation native Arizonian. He is a Vietnam Veteran who spent time flying helicopters in the Army, the National Guard, State Police, and part-time for the local news. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 49 years and he has 3 children and 9 grandchildren. He is 71-years-old. With such an active lifestyle, he was told he was experiencing his knee pain because of it. Most of the time, being active is good and healthy for a person’s body, but this wasn’t exactly the case for him.

“I was told the reason I had bad knees was because of the active life I have led. Being active is a good thing but the associated pain that eventually came with it was not,” said Vaughn.

Vaughn’s previous surgeries and his Mako System Total Knee Replacement Surgery with Dr. Brian Gruber, Orthopedic Surgeon

In 2011, shortly after retiring, Vaughn had his first knee replacement surgery, and it did not go exactly as planned.

“It did not go as well as I had hoped, and I postponed the second knee for 8 years using a series of shots that helped but I knew I would eventually have the surgery for the remaining knee,” he said.

After this surgery, Vaughn described his pain, saying he was limping and favoring his right side. He feared and knew that this would encourage hip and back problems and that he eventually would need to replace his other knee.

“A high school friend told me about Dr. Gruber and after researching him I set up an appointment. He was easy to talk to and confident that I was doing the right thing with my surgery,” he said.

The medical advancements within the ten years changed the way total knee replacement surgery could be done, and this helped Vaughn in his medical course. Because of his Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Total Knee Replacement Surgery with Dr. Gruber, Vaughn is making big plans for his future. Overall, his experience with Dr. Gruber and his staff at Integrated Orthopedics is nothing but positive and he shared that he would recommend Dr. Gruber in the future if he knew someone who was in the same or similar position.

“Knee surgery is not a walk in the park but sometimes you just have to do it for quality of life and to get back to the active life you are used to living. My surgery went well and I am looking forward to traveling to Europe next summer. I highly recommend Dr. Gruber,” he said.

Looking back, Vaughn is happy that his friend from high school recommended Dr. Gruber.

“Dr. Gruber did a great job, and I am glad someone took the time to recommend him to me.”

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