Local Woman’s Knee Pain is Gone Following Concierge Service
Florence Bayci already was impressed with the care Dr. Timothy Keating was giving her Mom at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.
But one particular moment got her to face a six-year-old fear of replacing her other knee after a bad experience at another hospital.
“When my mother was 97, she broke her tibia,” said Bayci, 70, of Joliet. “And I saw the care Dr. Keating gave her and the kindness he showed.
“One night around 11 p.m., I thought of a question to ask him, so I sent him an email, expecting one of his staff would get back to me in the morning. He emailed back that night! I was amazed,” she exclaimed.
Concierge Service
Dr. Keating said that’s all part of the concierge service he and his staff provide to his patients.
“We define concierge care as easy access to me and my staff around the clock via text, call or email, whatever the patient prefers. My staff will make sure we do everything we can to put our patients at ease at any time of day. The last thing a patient wants is to pick up the phone at a time of need and end up talking to another doctor or provider who isn’t familiar with them.”
Bayci knew she needed to have someone look at her right knee, which was giving her trouble, even after getting cortisone and gel shots to ease the pain.
“I got a series of shots, one shot per week over a five-week period, with the expectations of pain relief up to six months,” she explained. “Each shot would wear off just when it was time to get another. But by the last couple, they didn’t work at all.”
Initially, it was worth going through all that, she said, just so she wouldn’t have to suffer the pain she suffered when she had a total left knee replacement at another hospital.
Dr. Timothy Keating
Bayci also was impressed that after taking X-rays, Dr. Keating told her she would need only a partial knee replacement.
“The arthritis was only on one side,” she said. “A lot of doctors probably would have just done a full replacement.”
Easing the Pain
Although long-term pain relief is the primary goal, Dr. Keating said he does everything he can to minimize the pain for patients in the period right after surgery.
“I use a minimally invasive technique using special instruments I helped develop,” he said. “There’s no need to cut tendons or muscles.”
Also, he uses a combination of anesthetics during the surgery that minimize the need for opioids for pain relief afterward.
Bayci had her partial knee replacement in October at Silver Cross, and after a bit of recovery and walking around with staff, she went home the same day, with orders for physical therapy two times a week and exercises to do at home in between.
“I’m lucky to have a wonderful team that includes a physician assistant, nurse, surgery scheduler, medical assistant and athletic trainer,” he said. “Minimally invasive joint replacement can help get those patients who had been active walking, playing pickleball, biking, running, hiking and snow skiing back to their old selves.”
Bayci said her recovery has been nothing like it was six years ago.
“I used a walker for maybe a week,” she said, “then I used a cane, mostly just in case. My husband, Tom, has been wonderful, driving me to all my appointments. I can’t say enough about Dr. Keating and his team at the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, and my experience at Silver Cross Hospital. They helped bring me a long way in a short amount of time.”
To learn more about the Midwest Institute for Orthopedics at Silver Cross Hospital , visit silvercross.org .
