By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

So at the beginning of January, Donaldson, a 64-year-old Grand Island resident and director of patient care services in the surgical unit at St. Francis Medical Center, underwent knee replacement surgery. Now, she's preparing to have the other knee replaced in mid-March.

If she had been born a decade earlier, Donaldson said, she probably wouldn't have opted to have both of her knees replaced at age 64.

"It used to be so that you waited as long as you could," Donaldson said.

But advancements in medical science are allowing people with severe joint problems to undergo replacement surgeries at younger and younger ages.

In keeping with a national trend, joint replacements in Grand Island are increasing among those under age 65, according to local nurses and doctors.

Medical professionals cite numerous reasons for the shift, including improved pain management and shortened hospital stays.

New techniques and prostheses mean the replacement joints are much more durable, making doctors more willing to perform the surgeries on younger patients, said Dr. Greg Sextro, a physician at Central Nebraska Orthopedics.

It's not uncommon to see people in their 50s and 60s undergoing joint replacements, the two most popular elective surgeries being on the hips and knees, said Dr. Frank Lesiak of Central Nebraska Orthopedics.

People tend to be more demanding on their joints now than they were before, Sextro said, and joint replacements allow them to continue meeting those demands without so much pain.

Those who need joint replacements have typically encountered arthritis or a traumatic injury. Patients become a candidate for surgery after all other nonsurgical options have been exhausted, Lesiak said.

St. Francis completes elective joint replacements through what it calls "joint camp," said Suzanne Hale, a registered nurse and joint replacement center coordinator. Before the surgery takes place, patients are asked to attend a class that walks them through what will happen during surgery and recovery.

Patients are admitted and undergo surgery on Monday or Tuesday. They then spend a few days recovering and undergoing intensive physical therapy before being discharged at the end of the week, Hale said.

The hospital can handle up to 10 joint camp patients per week, Hale said, and it's not uncommon for at least one or two of those patients to be between the ages of 40 and 60.

"People are living longer, so they want to still have an active life and not have pain," Hale said.

Donaldson agreed.

"As people are having to work longer in life, it's important that we have a body that keeps us working, and working without pain," Donaldson said.

As Donaldson continues to recover from her first knee replacement and prepares for the upcoming surgery on her other knee, she said she's looking forward to in the not-so-distant future being able to do the things she used to love: walk for long distances, go up flights of stairs without pain and maybe even enjoy a horseback ride.

With her job in the surgery unit at St. Francis, Donaldson has seen how getting joint replacements at a younger age has not only helped her lead a better life, but also how it's benefited others.

"It's beneficial that they don't have to be in pain as long," Donaldson said. "They can have something done about it."