Margaret Flesher

My story is about how HSS has kept me in the game for almost 50 years. When a hip, broken in a car accident my senior year in college, didn't heal properly, I was fortunate to have a referral to HSS and the late Dr. Bernard Jacobs. At a time when total hip replacement was a relatively new procedure, Dr. Jacobs extended the life of my hip through surgery and consultation with other surgeons until he finally performed a total replacement in 1979. I was 35. That prosthesis lasted 30 years -- twice its expected shelf life. When it finally fell apart, accompanied by a serious infection, Dr. Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle and the staff of HSS went into action to cure the infection and perform the revision surgery. Through the years, the effect of the original hip fracture on other joints has taken me back to HSS where Dr. Eduardo Salvati replaced a second hip, and most recently, Dr. Della Valle replaced a knee. Today, I move easily and without pain, thanks to the skill and dedicated care of my surgeons and the HSS nursing and technical staff. I delight in recommending HSS to friends, knowing they will be in the best of hands.