Paul Hady

When I was growing up from childhood through my teens, I experienced chronic pain in my left ankle. After seeing several orthopedic doctors, and trying all different types of treatments, it was eventually determined that my pain was caused by a congenital defect. Surgery was the next step to eliminate a bridged bone by a procedure called "triple arthrodesis" (the fusing of 3 joints). I started my first semester at college on crutches but for the next ten or twenty years I was without pain. But that all changed once arthritis kicked in, and pain returned with a vengeance. With each passing year, the pain intensified beyond anything I could imagine. I tried all kinds of remedies, starting with over-the-counter medications to regular visits to pain management and orthopedic specialists. I was prescribed all kinds of very strong pain relief medications, steroid injections and various other treatments. However, nothing addressed the pure agony I endured for many, many years.

I was desperate for a solution that did not exist. At that time, ankle replacement was relatively new, unproven and not recommended for me at the time when I was in my mid-50s. Eventually (and thankfully), vast improvements were made to the medical technology and ankle replacement became an option for me. I was 60 years old when I was recommended to Dr. Constantine Demetracopoulos at HSS. He brilliantly performed a successful total ankle replacement. My life of pain was transformed! Once I recovered from the surgery, there was not a trace of the severe suffering that I had endured for so long. I am happy to say that 8 years later, I am still free of pain and remain thankful that relief from my previous life of torture is now only a bad memory.

I had a wonderfully exceptional experience having had surgery at HSS. I was so pleasantly surprised at the unsurpassed care received that I returned to HSS a year later for a total knee replacement by Dr. Alexander McLawhorn. It was another very positive experience at HSS. My wife and I are such big fans of HSS and my doctors that we always recommend them to family members, friends, neighbors and even strangers!

Thank you to Dr. Demetracopoulos and McLawhorn and HSS for helping me live a pain-free existence.