Minimally Invasive Joint Reconstruction Surgery: Can You Share A Patient Success Story? - Dr. Mullen

Dr. Mullen:
Most of the patients who are going to have their joints replaced have at least some level of anxiety.

But there’s one particular patient who not too long ago expressed a lot of anxiety. She lives alone. Most of her family is out in the Midwest.

She was real apprehensive about how she’d be able to handle all the stresses of surgery, how she was going to handle going home.

She said she has a few neighbors who can help but was more or less intimidated by everything that was going to be put in front of her.

This is the part about being a surgeon that’s the best part is I get to tell her, “We have a system. We have a plan. I know what you are thinking. I know why you are afraid.”

The more and more we talk, the more she trusts me, the more I learn about her, it put her fears at ease. We were able to do her knee replacement - no problems. She was home in three days.

I told her she’d be home in three days beforehand, she didn’t believe me. She was home in three days. She was walking.

She had her walker for about a week or so. It was hard. I don’t want you to think it wasn’t hard.

But she came back to see me not too long ago saying, “Dr. Mullen, you were right. I was scared to death. I am so glad I had this done. Thanks for making it easy for me.”

When I have a patient who is that nervous and who does that well, I get excited. That makes me feel great.

About Dr. Daniel J. Mullen, M.D.:
Dr. Daniel J. Mullen, M.D., specializes in reconstructive procedures of both the knee and shoulder. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. He went to medical school at Temple University in Philadelphia and did his orthopaedic training in Baltimore centered out of Union Memorial Hospital. He also worked at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and the Shock Trauma Center. He did a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where he was assistant team doctor for the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the spring training division of the Cleveland Indians. He has authored numerous articles and textbook chapters and delivered many research and teaching presentations on surgery of the knee and the shoulder on both a national and international level. He volunteers his time and resources to help the local high school athletes during their sporting seasons. He lives in Gilbert, AZ, with his wife and two boys.

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• Bones & Joints