I want to thank you for the excellent surgery replacing my right knee in July. For years I spent sleepless nights in constant pain. I tried various pain relief creams and ointments. They claimed to remove pain but provided very little relief.
I went from using a cane to a walker and finally a wheel chair. I was afraid to travel, not wanting to be a burden. Dr Femino's kindness in explaining the procedure and recovery process gave me the confidence to have the surgery. I was back at home three days after surgery, walking, without pain. In a few weeks I had my life back.Now I am driving and working out at a fitness center with my husband.This weekend I am going Apple picking for the first time in many years. I can walk and play with my grandchildren now.
God Bless you, you have been a Saint to me.
Sincerely,
Caroline
Unit staff at Clara Maass Medical Center after her miracle surgery to get back to her active lifestyle. Click here to watch the video testimonial.
There aren’t words adequate to express my gratitude, but I will try. Dr. Femino had been highly recommended to me and making the first appointment with him was one of the best decision I have ever made. Severe Osteoarthritis in both knees had made everything challenging dealing with pain and instability. From my first meeting with Dr. Femino, I felt at ease and confident he could help me.
Dr. Femino performed total knee replacements of both knees – one in January 2012 and the next in January 2013. The surgeries, recoveries, and result were better than I expected. Both surgeries were performed on Tuesday. I was home on Friday and began outpatient therapy the following Monday. In less than three weeks, I had full range of motion and was walking without a cane. The physical therapists were impressed with my rapid recovery.
Thanks to Dr. Femino I am back doing everything I enjoy, especially keeping up with my grandchildren ages five and two. Family and friends are surprised and happy to see me walking normally. In addition to his expertise, Dr. Femino is a warm, caring and won to earth person. His staff is friendly and professional. The pre-surgical class, information and exercises were very beneficial in helping me prepare for the surgery. The surgical team and orthopedic wing staff is top notch. Alicia Realmuto, Dr. Femino’s nurse practitioner is exceptional and a great support.
I can’t thank Dr. Femino enough for getting me back on my feet and moving again.
Sincerely,
Kathy Greendell
If you’re going to climb trees for a living, you need good knees. Robbie, a tree surgeon for the town of Nutley, NJ, was suffering from terrible knee pain.
After 23 years working for the Shade Tree Department and a lifetime of athletic assault from years of playing ice hockey, Robbie was left with a deteriorating left knee at the age of 47. His days at work were painful; his nights ended with ice bags on his knee. The mornings were excruciating; getting out of bed became a daily chore. Even arthroscopic surgery could not help.
“I couldn’t walk properly, and I was in constant pain,” Robbie said. When he met with Dr. Femino Robbie wasn’t sure what to expect.
“He took his time in explaining to me exactly what I needed to have done,” Robbie expressed. “He was very reassuring; it’s obvious he cares about people.”
Total Knee Replacement
Robbie’s total knee replacement took less than one hour and Robbie is quick to proclaim “it was the best thing I ever did.” His pain disappeared after one month and the swelling in his knee became a distant memory.
“When I went back to work I would bring an ice pack, but I didn’t need that. Then I would do my exercises, but I didn’t need to do that. Now, when I see the doctor, it’s never about my knee.”
It’s also a lot easier to keep up with his young son Robbie.
“I have my life back.”
Fifty-one year old Andrea had almost gotten used to the hip pain that that she suffered for years. Avascular necrosis, a degenerative condition, had gotten the best of both her hips, to the point she referred to her pain as “an old friend.”
This “friend” however, was not kind. Gradually, Andrea was able to get around less and less. Gone were the thrills of riding roller-coasters around the country, a favorite hobby she shared with her husband. Gone were trips to the mall. Even shopping at the local grocery store had become unbearable.
Finally, Andrea’s right hip dislocated, causing her gait to become lopsided with subsequent pain in her knee. She needed more and more medication to help manage the pain. That was when her physical therapist referred her to an orthopedist for further examination. “He told me that my case was too complex, and that he wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot pole,” Andrea remembered.
Turning Point
Then he referred her to the specialist who was known to take on complex, challenging cases -- the doctor that orthopedists turn to with difficult cases.
The day she hobbled into Dr. Femino’s office was the turning point for Andrea, the day she was reassured that surgery would indeed change her life for the better. Within a short time Andrea had surgery to replace both hips. Three months after her last surgery she was not only back at the mall, she was back to her favorite hobby – riding those wicked coasters.
“Since I’m never in pain anymore, I forget that I have new hips,” Andrea now says matter-of-factly. “I was afraid to have surgery, but Dr. Femino was very reassuring, and I always felt comfortable. He is wonderful.”
For Madeline, it was never a matter of “if” she was going to have hip replacement surgery, but more like “when” Her job as Dr. Femino’s Office Manager put her closer to every detail of the hip surgery process than most patients.
Madeline’s hip pain had started to become a nuisance, getting in the way of her busy job, active lifestyle and time spent with grandchildren. She recalled the quick decision she made to have the surgery, taking advantage of a last-minute cancellation on Dr. Femino’s schedule.
“The doctor didn’t think I would be able to get all the pre-admission tests in less than a week, but there was no way I was going to wait to have my surgery,” she said.
Madeline got all the required tests and underwent anterior approach hip replacement surgery. She tossed away a cane she was using shortly after surgery and was soon driving friends around, much to their astonishment. She was back at work in two weeks and has never looked back.
For an avid tennis player like Charles, a deteriorated hip meant that eventually he would have to give up a game he loved so much. The pain was getting too unbearable, and he struggled even to get through a game of doubles at the local tennis club.
But Charles was a believer in medicine and technology. He had beat Stage 3 lung cancer at the age of 73 and was not about to let his bad hip stop him. His primary doctor, whom he acquired during his cancer treatment, referred him to a surgeon he believed could work another “miracle” in his life – Dr. Femino.
Promising Surgery
Charles underwent hip replacement surgery – with Dr. Femino utilizing a technique called “The Anterior Approach.” This highly innovative procedure, practiced by few orthopedic surgeons because of the technical skilled required, promises less pain and faster recovery.
“It was spectacular, the best thing that happened to me,” Charles said, recalling the surgery that changed his life. After two days in the hospital and less than a week of therapy, Charles reported that his pain had disappeared. As simple as that.
In April Charles went down to Florida and began playing tennis – this time without pain. By August he was playing in tournaments and he never looked back.
“I couldn’t even play singles, and now I was playing in tournaments.”
For Dr. Ronald Viscuso, a nephrologist at Clara Maass Medical Center, it was becoming difficult making rounds at the hospital with his bad knee. Luckily, help wasn’t too far away. In fact, it was right next door.
Dr. Viscuso needed a partial knee replacement, and a prestigious NYC hospital told him he would need a three-day hospital stay. He opted to have Dr. Femino perform the surgery, and he is not afraid to tell you he made the right decision.
“Before I had surgery I looked like an old man limping, I couldn’t keep up with my wife. Now I can keep up with anybody,” he proudly stated.
Dr. Viscuso was especially happy with his speedy recovery following Dr. Femino’s surgery. He was walking at home five hours after surgery and in his office seeing patients eight days after surgery. In two weeks he was back at the hospital doing his normal rounds. Pain, for him, had become a distant memory.
