Shilpa Puri

I tore my ACL, MCL, and lateral meniscus in March of 2017. I was devastated at the time because I was a fourth year medical student about to graduate in April 2017 and then start residency in July 2017. I was worrying if I was even going to be able to start residency given my condition. In addition, I've been an avid runner since I was in high school so not being able to walk properly for a while was quite frustrating.

Dr. DiFelice was very helpful in getting me an appointment to see him soon after my injury despite his busy schedule. He was extremely friendly and encouraging when I saw him. He told me that I had to wait for several weeks while attending physical therapy to let my MCL heal and get my range of motion back before getting an ACL repair. I worked really hard during physical therapy especially because I wanted to make sure I was going to be able to start my residency on time. In late April, the day finally came when Dr. DiFelice said I was ready for surgery. I was ecstatic. He was able to perform a surgery in which he reattached my ACL to its proper positioning without using any allograft or even autograft. This is an innovative procedure that is not commonly used. However, it is less invasive and I had a much quicker recovery time. I was walking with partial weight bearing that same day. I was in physical therapy for a couple months after surgery although I don't think it was necessary. I am now back to running and it feels amazing. I would never have been able to start my residency on time or get back to running as quickly if it weren't for Dr. DiFelice and his innovative ACL repair. I am forever to grateful to him.