Executive Regains Mobility After Having Not One – but Both of His Knees Replaced in a Single Operation

Managing more than 70,000 employees globally seemed easy to Dan Caspersen compared to managing debilitating pain in not one— but both of his knees. The executive vice president of Human Resources at Toys"R"Us, Inc. is an active 58-year-old who played hockey and went running regularly.  In the late ‘90s, pain developed in Caspersen’s left knee. “When I had it looked at, the doctor told me to wait until I had to crawl into the hospital before doing replacement surgery,” he said.

After a knee scope failed to alleviate the pain, he decided to limp through it. In 2008, he was diagnosed with diabetes. “This meant I had to exercise more, which hurt more and then the other knee went bad,” Caspersen said.

The intermittent, surging pockets of pain led him to see an orthopaedic surgeon, who recommended bilateral knee replacement for this arthritis sufferer. “I was sick of the pain. It hurt to play golf.  I couldn’t exercise and the random shots of pain were bothersome but not debilitating. So, I agreed to the surgery to improve my quality of life - now,” Caspersen said.

Since undergoing double knee surgery in November 2010, Caspersen has been diligent with the aggressive rehab that began in the recovery room. Rigorous therapy made it possible for him to begin working from home just two weeks post-op, and he returned to the office in four weeks. Because he was in good physical condition prior to surgery and continues to strengthen his knees by exercising daily, he is on the way to regaining a normal to excellent degree of flexion.

Caspersen looks forward to continuing to improve his range of motion in both knees and getting back to his active lifestyle. “I started playing golf in March. I got a little sore, but it didn’t hinder my game,” he said.

Additional information about knee replacement surgery, including a list of surgeons who use the Optetrak^® knee system, can be found here.

This is the result of a single patient’s experience. With any surgery, there are potential risks and results will vary depending on the patient.