First-Grade Teacher Makes Quick Comeback From Knee Replacement

The pain in her knee was getting worse and worse. She couldn’t walk except on crutches and she was forced to give up her cherished walks as well as her side job as a caterer.

So Robyn Endress made an appointment at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, where she underwent a robotic total knee replacement. The result was nothing short of life-changing.

“I was in excruciating pain all the time,” says Endress. “My knee was totally debilitated from arthritis.”

She knew she needed surgery, but as a first-grade teacher, her main focus was to get back to her students as quickly as possible. Her care team – including her surgeon and her physical therapists – helped her meet that goal.

Three weeks after getting a new knee, Endress was back in her classroom at Moravian Academy’s Historic Downtown Campus in Bethlehem. It was a comeback that benefitted the patient as well as her students.

“I am just so grateful that I am now fully mobile and pain-free,” says Endress, 63, of Bethlehem. She has joined a gym, and she is looking forward to spring when she can take nice long walks in the woods.

Her doctor was Jonathon Brown, DO, a joint replacement surgeon with LVPG Orthopedics and Sports Medicine–Hecktown Oaks. He performed a robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery.

“Joint replacement surgery can be a game-changer,” says Dr. Brown. “It allows patients to address their pain and get back to living the life that they want to live.

“While I can’t wind back the clock and make someone younger, I can help them live a higher quality life by addressing their pain.”

When used during knee replacement surgery, robotic technology can help a surgeon in precision cutting and balancing. Robotic knee replacements result in less pain, less need for inpatient physical therapy, less time in the hospital and better knee flexion. This means better outcomes and faster return to normal activity.

“Dr. Brown was incredible,” says Endress. “He’s just so personable and kind, and at the same time he truly is a master of his craft.”

Dr. Brown says Endress had a quick recovery in part because she was extremely motivated. “She really wanted to get back to her life,” he says.

“We know that every patient is different, and people take different times to heal. But Robyn’s quick recovery is a testament to her hard work and to the effort of the surgical team to execute as perfectly as possible,” says Dr. Brown.

Endress’s physical therapists agree that motivation is a key factor, and so is educating the patient on what to expect and what is normal. “Having a personal goal gives someone an extra drive to recover well,” says LVHN physical therapist assistant Amy Esterly at Rehabilitation Services–West Broad Street.

“We guide patients and provide the building blocks and tools for them to achieve a successful outcome,” adds LVHN physical therapist Amanda Molnar, who’s also at the West Broad Street site. It’s important to know what to expect, she says, what is normal during recovery, and when to be concerned if something doesn’t seem quite right.

“I am mobile again, and pain-free,” Endress says. “I am just so grateful. It’s just remarkable to be walking again without pain.”