HSS patient, Mark Hanlon, who turns 74 next month, is more active than many people half his age. After two knee replacements, two hip replacements, a shoulder surgery and several ankle surgeries, he says, “everything works and I have a full, productive life.”

The Long Island resident says sports are a vital part of his life. He has an activity for every season and most days of the week. Sailing, sculling, tennis, bicycling, snow skiing and open-water swimming keep him busy year-round.

So, when he developed arthritis, he wasn’t about to let that stop him. “In my late 30s I felt the first twinge of pain in my right hip. Within a couple of years, it had worsened to the point that I needed care. I was told that I had arthritis likely from one of two serious falls as a young man,” he explained. “Because I was still young and active, I held off surgery until I hit 50, by which time I was using a cane.” He had his first hip replacement at HSS more than 20 years ago, and it’s still holding up.  

Years later, at age 66, he felt the same pain in his other hip, and he had a second hip replacement at HSS. This time, with advances in surgical technique and technology, the former attorney says, “I was up and about the following day, and in six weeks I had forgotten all about it.”

“More aging meant more arthritis,” he explained, and in 2024 he had both knees replaced in two separate surgeries by Fred D. Cushner, MD, a knee and hip surgeon at HSS. Four months after his second knee replacement, he went skiing in Vermont. "I am now back to all my activities, and best of all, just being able to walk around town without pain,” added Mr. Hanlon.

Read the full article at newswise.com.