For two years I had intermittent left knee pain with occasional locking such that I could not fully flex it. I am a concierge home care physical therapist who needs to travel all over NYC by subway, which means lots of stairs while carrying lots of stuff. There were days when I suffered so much I could barely walk, but most days I could manage. It was just exhausting.
I was being treated by an orthopedist at another hospital who insisted my problem was arthritis. He sent me to PT (kudos for that) which helped some days and didn’t other days. He gave me some Monovisc injections, the first one of which seemed to help quite a bit while the second nearly crippled me. After that second injection I insisted on an MRI because my symptoms were just not consistent with arthritis (I am a PT, after all. I know these things. I treat these things). The result was a torn meniscus and a cyst in the joint. My first orthopedist referred me to someone within his hospital who did not take my insurance. I wanted to go to HSS anyway because 4 years earlier I had my right knee scoped there by Dr. Fealy -also excellent- but he did not take my new insurance. I found Dr. Marx on my insurance website and checked out his reviews. Glad I did. By the time I got to him my knee was very sore, limited in range and I was very frustrated. Dr. Marx looked at the imaging I brought and said 1) if my symptoms were only a couple of weeks old he would not think of surgery, but since I have had them for so long and they clearly indicate a mechanical problem, surgery is indicated, and 2) “if a PT tells me she needs a scope, she probably needs a scope.” I could have kissed him for his clear, critical thinking and his respect for my judgment. Long story short, I had the surgery about 4 months ago and after a few weeks of PT and my own rehab, I have ZERO pain and am bounding up and down the subway stairs better than most 60 year olds I know.
From an administrative point of view, Dr. Marx’s staff run that office like a well oiled machine-everything was set up for me with no insurance surprises. The medical staff including his PA and nurses are professional, competent and kind. Could not ask for a better experience. So happy to be living my life without pain!
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