{"id":39060,"date":"2025-08-05T20:22:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T20:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-southcoast-health-multi.southcoast-health.org\/news\/a-long-road-to-relief\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T20:21:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T20:21:25","slug":"a-long-road-to-relief","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.southcoast.org\/pt\/news\/a-long-road-to-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"Empregado da Southcoast Health recebe tratamento que muda a sua vida"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aos 45 anos, a m\u00e3e de tr\u00eas filhos de New Bedford j\u00e1 tinha sido submetida a dez cirurgias, que come\u00e7aram quando ainda mal tinha entrado na adolesc\u00eancia. Kristen s\u00f3 encontrou al\u00edvio em 2023, quando foi submetida a uma substitui\u00e7\u00e3o total do joelho direito que mudou a sua vida. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"J\u00e1 me puseram parafusos, j\u00e1 me tiraram parafusos, j\u00e1 me fizeram de tudo: r\u00f3tula flutuante, instabilidade da r\u00f3tula (tend\u00e3o). Fui operada pela primeira vez quando tinha 13 anos\", diz Kristen, que trabalha como assistente m\u00e9dica certificada na Cirurgia ortop\u00e9dica da Southcoast Health<\/a> em Fall River. \"Quando era crian\u00e7a, n\u00e3o podia praticar qualquer desporto. Estava sempre a cair. A minha alcunha era desastrado\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Os joelhos do\u00edam-lhe quase sempre e, por vezes, tinha de voltar a colocar a r\u00f3tula no lugar para conseguir andar ou mesmo endireitar as pernas. A situa\u00e7\u00e3o foi-se agravando ao longo dos anos, mas ela tinha de continuar porque era m\u00e3e solteira de tr\u00eas filhos, incluindo um casal de g\u00e9meos, que tinham hor\u00e1rios escolares e p\u00f3s-escolares muito preenchidos, o que a obrigava muitas vezes a lev\u00e1-los de carro. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Os cirurgi\u00f5es tinham muito poucas op\u00e7\u00f5es para algu\u00e9m que tinha sofrido sete cirurgias no joelho esquerdo e tr\u00eas no direito. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

O trabalho era dif\u00edcil porque o seu trabalho era frequentemente f\u00edsico. Tinha de levantar doentes, colocar-lhes talas, retirar agrafos, administrar injec\u00e7\u00f5es de cortisona por ultra-sons, saltar de e para bancos e fazer todas as outras coisas que um centro de cirurgia ortop\u00e9dica exige. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Um dia, no trabalho, o meu joelho direito cedeu\", conta.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Michael Langworthy<\/a>, um cirurgi\u00e3o ortop\u00e9dico de renome da Southcoast Health que, na altura, trabalhava com Kristen no Centro de Cirurgia Ortop\u00e9dica da Southcoast Health<\/a> em Dartmouth, examinou-a. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ele disse-me: 'Os seus joelhos est\u00e3o em fase terminal de artrite, tem de fazer uma substitui\u00e7\u00e3o total. Posso dar-lhe 20 ou 30 anos com o novo joelho'\", afirma.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diz que Langworthy lhe disse que podiam \"fazer apenas uma substitui\u00e7\u00e3o parcial e substituir a r\u00f3tula, mas que teria de voltar alguns anos mais tarde para fazer uma substitui\u00e7\u00e3o total\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Para a Kristen, isso foi o suficiente. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

O Dr. Langworthy fez-lhe uma substitui\u00e7\u00e3o total do joelho da perna direita em junho de 2023. Devido ao seu trabalho, ela tinha uma boa ideia do que esperar da cirurgia e da recupera\u00e7\u00e3o. Passou a noite ap\u00f3s a cirurgia em Hospital St. Luke's<\/a> porque era fumadora e tinha a tens\u00e3o arterial elevada, mas estava a andar poucas horas depois de ter sa\u00eddo da cirurgia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conseguiu controlar as dores p\u00f3s-cir\u00fargicas apenas com Tylenol, gra\u00e7as aos bloqueios nervosos administrados durante a cirurgia, e n\u00e3o precisou de medica\u00e7\u00e3o mais forte at\u00e9 come\u00e7ar oito semanas de reabilita\u00e7\u00e3o f\u00edsica no Southcoast Health Rehabilitation<\/a> Servi\u00e7os em Dartmouth.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"No in\u00edcio, a fisioterapia foi dif\u00edcil: esticar e dobrar. O meu maior desafio era conseguir endireitar a perna, porque o tend\u00e3o estava muito apertado\", diz ela, mas ap\u00f3s uma semana de exerc\u00edcios de alongamento e de utiliza\u00e7\u00e3o de um dispositivo de alongamento Dynasplit, as coisas tornaram-se mais f\u00e1ceis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fiquei surpreendida por n\u00e3o ter tido dores desde o dia da cirurgia at\u00e9 agora. Algumas dores, exceto durante a fisioterapia\", diz ela. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A doente p\u00f4de regressar ao trabalho 11 semanas ap\u00f3s a cirurgia e, pela primeira vez em muitos anos, consegue trabalhar sem dores no joelho. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Desde que tenha cuidado e n\u00e3o a force demasiado, n\u00e3o terei problemas\", diz ela. \"Continuo a ter de ter cuidado, levantando doentes com as pernas e tendo cuidado com a forma como me sento num banco. Para al\u00e9m disso, n\u00e3o tenho restri\u00e7\u00f5es e n\u00e3o tenho dores. Tenho 45 anos e estava a viver com dores desde os 13 anos. Agora j\u00e1 n\u00e3o preciso de o fazer\". 
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diz que pode ou n\u00e3o precisar de uma segunda substitui\u00e7\u00e3o do joelho direito daqui a 20 ou 30 anos, mas que sabe que, num futuro pr\u00f3ximo, ter\u00e1 de substituir tamb\u00e9m o joelho esquerdo - sempre o mais doloroso dos dois. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

E espera que seja Langworthy e o resto da equipa da Southcoast Health Orthopedic Surgery a fazer essa cirurgia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Adoro o Dr. Langworthy. \u00c9 \u00f3timo trabalhar com ele. Tive uma \u00f3ptima experi\u00eancia. De todos os cirurgi\u00f5es que j\u00e1 tive, recomendo sempre o Dr. Langworthy. Digo aos pacientes (na Southcoast Health Orthopedic Surgery) que passei por isso e isso ajuda-os.\" <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Para saber mais sobre os servi\u00e7os ortop\u00e9dicos da Southcoast Health, visite<\/em>Tratamentos ortop\u00e9dicos MA & RI | Southcoast Health<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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