Sanford Evans

My surgeon at HSS does not fit in the least the stereotype of the cold and distant surgeon. He is a very personable, warm, attentive physician who will put you at ease as soon as you meet him. I can only judge his surgical skills by the excellent results I got from his giving me a total right knee replacement in April 2017. It's now been almost four months and I am utterly pain-free 99.9% of the time with my mobility growing wider and more confident every day. What pain I occasionally feel is insignificant, fleeting and is probably part of the healing process. He answers questions directly and without resorting to medical jargon. He also has an excellent, responsive and intelligent staff working for him to answer questions when he is unavailable. Every patient is different, but in my case I received an epidural instead of general anesthesia which resulted in my being awake and clear-headed shortly after surgery. My stay at Hospital for Special Surgery was brief - 3 days - but I was informed that the length of one's post-surgical stay is very much determined by the needs of the patient. Sometimes a day shorter, sometimes a day or two longer. During my hospital stay when I needed pain relief it was made available by the very pleasant and responsive nursing staff on the floor I was assigned to. Having done some pre-surgical research, I discovered that it was utterly essential to a successful recovery that I get the right balance of rest and therapy. The therapy to full motion recovery requires you bend your knee when it is the last thing in the world you want to do. It is unavoidably painful. Don't believe any doctor who tells you it isn't or it can be avoided for a full recovery. I certainly didn't like having to do it - but I did as I was instructed and the pain subsides quickly after each session. Day by day - assuming you do the therapy and balance it with the prescribed rest - it becomes less and less necessary as your range of motion grows and is restored to normal. I was off serious pain medication, by the time I left the hospital, except for a low dose to help me sleep at night. But I quickly transitioned to regular strength Tylenol and used less and less as time went by. I am delighted with the results I have obtained, but am only in the fourth month of my recovery and have been told that it takes a full year for total recovery. So things are going to get even better. I unequivocally recommend my HSS surgeon to you. He will call your family shortly after your surgery is completed then come by and see you as soon as he’s notified that you’re awake. And he will not recommend surgery unless it is abundantly apparent from your x-ray that it is required.