Bob Schultz, Oak Ridge
Joint Replacement
Bob Schultz of Oak Ridge doesn’t do anything halfway. The 71-year-old has enjoyed skiing the slopes in Colorado for 37 years, and when he entered his first competition last year, he won a silver medal. He’s also a bicycling enthusiast and may ride as many as 500-700 miles with his wife, Maxine, each year.
Not bad for someone with two artificial knee joints.
Schultz began having sports-related knee problems about 15 years ago. “The cartilage was pretty much gone on my right knee and half-way gone on my left knee,” he explained. “I had been getting relief from shots of for three years. The last year, they didn’t take hold and I skied only four days that year.” With his ability to ski in jeopardy, Schultz decided to have the total knee joint replacement surgery his doctor recommended, and he had both surgeries performed on the same day. His doctor was Michael MacKay, M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Methodist.
“I told Dr. MacKay that I didn’t want to have the surgery unless I would be able to ski again. He told me to avoid the bumps. I’ve cheated a little,” Schultz noted.
Schlultz's surgery results were excellent. He was back to square dancing within a month and on his bike at the end of two months. At the end of nine months, he was skiing once again.
“Mr. Schultz is obviously a high performer and extremely motivated,” Dr. MacKay said. “For those people who are driven, however, this amount of physical activity is not uncommon. It really depends on the patient’s pre-operative functional level and setting reasonable goals or expectations.”
Rehab was an important part of Schultz’s recovery. He had physical therapy three days a week and did rehab for four hours a day at home. “It was a lot of work,” Schultz said, “but I wanted to make sure everything fully worked. I pushed very hard for full rehabilitation.”
Criste Tiegs, Oak Ridge
Neurosurgery
Whether she’s lifting a riding lawn mower at her home or escaping from bears in Alaska, Criste Tiegs lives an active life. Sometimes it gets her into trouble, as it did the day one of her boys picked up the family’s riding lawn mower to remove grass caught up in it, and she decided to help.
“The mower weighed more than I did, and as I started to set it down, I went flying over it and an upturned rake, and landed on my bottom,” the 53-year-old said. The fall compressed her spine. Spinal compression can cause pain, numbness, tingling, weakness and unsteadiness, and in severe cases, paralysis and problems with bladder and bowel function.
Given the seriousness of her injury, Tiegs decided to have surgery in a large city hospital and chose a surgeon in Nashville. She did fairly well for about three months. “Then the pain came back. It was sharp. I’d walk about 20 feet and just cry.”
For her additional surgery, she chose Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge based on the excellent outcome of a familiy friend.
“Now, I’m back fishing, hiking, riding my bike and running from bears in Alaska,” Tiegs said. “There was no way before my last surgeries.”
Jim Davis, Clinton
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment
As athletic director at Clinton High School, Jim Davis, 59, is always ready for a challenge. But not long ago, he faced a different kind of challenge than athletics. Following elective surgery to remove a cyst from his right ankle, he developed complications in the form of a diabetic ulcer at the incision site.
“My wound was open to the bone,” he explained. “The worst case scenario was that I could lose my leg.” His surgeon referred him to the MMC Wound Treatment Center, the most experienced provider of hyperbaric oxygen treatment in the area.
During hyperbaric treatment, patients rest in a special chamber and breathe pure, pressurized oxygen. Pressurizing the oxygen enables them to dissolve more oxygen in their red blood cells and plasma. The oxygen circulates throughout the body, reaching tissues that are not receiving enough oxygen under normal circumstances. This action promotes angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels.
“You get into the chamber, watch television or take a nap, and breathe the oxygen for about 90 minutes,” Davis explained. “It feels normal even though the oxygen is pressurized. It’s called a ‘dive’.” Davis had 39 treatments over eight weeks.
Dr. David Stanley, medical director of the MMC Wound Treatment Center, explained, “There are several reasons wounds will not heal, including diabetes and peripheral artery disease." He added that with non-healing wounds, "the tissue may become infected, the infection may spread to the muscles and bones, and the tissue may eventually die. These wounds can be extremely painful and can rob you of your independence.”
Davis also received several traditional wound treatments including debridement to remove dead tissue, antibiotics, dressing removal and wound cleaning every day, and constant monitoring.
“It was mind-boggling how my foot ulcer healed,” he said. “The wound has closed, and I’m working now to rebuild the muscles." Because of hyperbaric treatment, Davis has been able to keep up with Clinton's 15 sports teams, play a major role in renovation of his school’s football stadium, and play with his two-year-old grandson. “I’ve lived in this area all of my life, and it’s amazing the technology we have in this valley. The wound center is a remarkable organization. The treatment and the people were fantastic."