Arthritis of the Knee Treatment

I’d had some soreness in my knee during cardio rehab—but when I saw the orthopedist, he said a knee replacement wasn’t an option since I’d had a kidney transplant several years before. He gave me a steroid shot and sent me on my way.

Shortly after that, I was driving home from Albany and heard Dr. Kim speaking on WAMC. I was fascinated by the science, so I called him up and went for a consult. He was very sympathetic. He used a portable ultrasound machine to look at the arthritic issues in my knees and fingers and neck and he saw the situation right away.

He showed me the options and said the main goal was to relieve pain, although the stem cells might help me regain some mobility, too. He also explained that it wasn’t covered by insurance, so I decided to save.

I have 21 grandchildren—so I wanted to get back to physical therapy and the treadmill and building up my cardio capacity for their sake!

An Unexpected Complication
I had a PRP injection in my knee. The procedure itself was very relaxing and not at all intimidating. I could see the nurse spinning up the material in the centrifuge. The injection itself didn’t hurt at all.

Then, 45 minutes later, it was extremely painful for me and it just didn’t get better in the next couple of days, as expected. I called the office and learned that Dr. Kim was just getting back from Ireland—he got off the plane and reached out to me right away. He was so comforting and so careful to figure out what might be causing the unexpected pain. Over the next few days I got more and more relief and recovered more and more movement.

Finding a Doctor to Trust
Dr. Kim is so kind and caring—and so is his staff. When I called with that terrible pain, even though it was a really inconvenient time, they all moved heaven and earth to get me an appointment. He’s the only doctor that goes out of his way when you’re desperate—and the best listener of any doctor I have!