Jennifer

Surgery to Realign Valgus Deformities in Both Knees & Both Feet

For as long as I can remember, I always had problems with my feet and legs. I was born with severe knock-knees and pronated feet (valgus deformities). I walked awkwardly and always with pain. As a kid, because of the way my legs were, I could never learn to run or to ride a bike. I couldn’t walk more than a short distance without needing to rest. In school, physical education was a disaster since I couldn’t run or even walk fast (and gym teachers weren’t always sympathetic). I couldn’t even escape my leg problems when I was asleep, because a sudden pain or leg cramp would often wake me up. I went to doctors, but they were never able to help me. The only thing they had to say was that I would “just have to learn to live with it.”

But then in 2012, at age 24, I met Dr. Rozbruch and everything changed. Not only did he know how to fix my leg problems, but he was compassionate and patient. Dr. Rozbruch treated me like he had all the time in the world for me and for all of my questions and concerns. In May 2012, he operated on my left femur and left foot, and in April 2013, he did the same procedures on my right. These procedures were amazing. First, Dr. Rozbruch cut my femur, near my knee, most of the way across. He wedged open the bone to the precise angle that would correct my misalignment, filled in the gap with a bone graft, and then fastened it all together with a screws and a metal plate. For each foot, he cut across the heel bone, realigned it, then attached the two pieces together.

Now my legs are straight and I can walk without pain! I can go up and down stairs using alternate steps – something I could never do before. I have no more pain at night and can walk a mile. The contrast between my day-to-day quality of life before surgery and my day-to-day life now is amazing. Dr. Rozbruch and HSS changed my life.