Getting Charles back on the squash court following partial knee replacement

As a competitive squash player, 66-year-old Charles Matison relies heavily on healthy joints. A New Jersey native who had been playing the sport for 25 years, Matison was making weekly trips to squash clubs in the area for competitions, and continuing to qualify for national tournaments. But at one point, his knee pain became an obstacle he could no longer ignore.

“I started out with a slight meniscus tear, and had injections in my knees to try to ease the pain. I was taking medication, too, but after awhile it didn’t mask the pain,” he says.

An appointment with his internist confirmed what Matison had suspected—it was time to consider a surgical option. He made an appointment with Jess Lonner, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Rothman Institute at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

During his first appointment, Matison had three questions for Dr. Lonner: Was he a candidate for partial knee replacement? If so, would Dr. Lonner be willing to do both knees at the same time? And finally: Would Matison be able to play squash again?

“He met with me and answered all three questions ‘yes’,” says Matison. “When I heard that he was able to do all of those things, I was ready to pursue the procedure.”

Matison’s bilateral partial knee replacement was scheduled for March 2012, the end of squash season and far enough ahead of the next season to give him time to recover and get back on the court.

As Dr. Lonner had promised, being back on the court was something Matison was able to do a mere six months after his surgery. And most importantly, he’s doing it without pain.

“Before the surgery, I had an unbelievable amount of pain to the point where it would keep me up at night,” he says. “Since the surgery, I’m on no medication—not even Tylenol or Midol, and I have absolutely no pain.”

Without the distraction of achy joints, Matison says he feels his squash game is as good, if not better, than it was before his surgery, and he thanks Bryn Mawr Hospital for the care he received.

“Bryn Mawr was terrific. The nurses were great, the surgery went so well, and I call Dr. Lonner a ‘prophet’—he was right about getting me back playing squash,” says Matison.