Hi Diane,

I had my knee replacement at Baptist in Winston-Salem where i worked at
the time. We relocated to Raleigh area after grad school. I work in teh
triangle and my husband works at UNC so Apex is a good place for us.
Well my knee surgery went sour from the beginning. I developed a blood
clot = DVT 9 days post op and imediately completely scarred the joint
down which we now know is part of the reaction. My surgeon blamed me
for my lack of effort in therapy for my poor range of motion. Well
funny thing he got no better than I got in PT in the OR with a
manipulation under anesthesia. He said all teh skin blistering and poor
ROM was due ot something but he didn't know what and allergic reaction
to prosthetic components was impossible. So when my hips starting
really bothering me I found Dr. Mont quite by accident on-line on teh
totallyhip support group. I kept seeing his name and looked him up. He
is one of the best knee adn hip guys in the world so I  decided no more
surgeon in WS and we went to Baltimore. IT is about a 6 hour drive nad
we have found a way to avoid DC all together so it is not bad at all
and Dr. Mont is worth it. He knew of the only lab in the country doing
the allergy blood testing for prosthetic components. And sure enough I
am severely allergic to polyethylene and bone cement. Luckily I do not
have bone cement. I knew he was my answer to prayer when he took one
look at my knee and said he thought i was allergic to something in
there and we were going to find out what.

Sorry for the long reply but it is still a very emotion issue for me.
Take Care,Kim

HI Skip,

Absolutely, my girl is black with a white blaze on her chest, I have
never known such a sweet, gentle, loving soul.
Newfie hugs and kisses to you!!!!
Kim