See How Much Damage a Softball Can Do! (Don't Miss the Before and Afters!)
In 2017, Aron Lee was playing in a competitive slow-pitch softball tournament and experienced a terrible knee injury.
"When my left leg hit the first base bag running out a ground ball, I suffered a complete knee dislocation. It was extremely painful, and I couldn't comprehend what had just happened. I had the inability to walk or even move my left leg. I thought it may have been broken. I was rushed to a local emergency room where I received an X-ray which determined the complete dislocation."
In a normal knee joint, the lower end of the femur (the thigh bone) meets the upper end of the tibia (the shin bone) forming the knee joint. Anatomically the ends of these bones have a matching contour and are able to straighten and bend back and forth against each other smoothly. The bones are held in their proper positions by ligaments and tendons.
In a knee dislocation, the force of the injury tears several of the ligaments and tendons allowing the bones to separate from each other. The bones are then no longer in contact with each other. It is a horrible injury. One of the major concerns with a knee dislocation is the potential for damage to the nerves and arteries (the arteries are also called the vascular structures) in the back of the knee which may be ruptured by the injury. If this occurs, there is the real potential for the loss of blood flow to the lower leg and loss of nerve function in the lower leg. It is a serious injury that may even threaten the survivability of the lower leg.
"Dr. Yehyawi was able to answer each of my questions, but he also provided a more in-depth reason behind his answers. I was soon at ease knowing I found a specialist that knew I was uneasy about my future abilities but was extremely positive about my capability to fully recover."
"I had to have it reset while under anesthetics, but it was not the only concern because having that type of injury and resetting it could cause serious vascular injury. After further testing after having it relocated, all of the vascular portions of my leg were undamaged. The emergency room doctor mentioned there would be some serious ligament damage with that type of injury, so he said I would need to see an orthopedic specialist as soon as possible."
"I heard great things about the Columbia Orthopaedic Group, and made an appointment with the first available specialist, and that was Dr. Tameem Yehyawi. He was able to view all of the X-rays from the ER visit and talk with me about how it happened."
An MRI of Aron's knee was performed in order to see the extent of the damage to the ligaments and tendons. The MRI demonstrated that he had suffered complete tears of the Anterior Cruciate ligament, (the ACL), The Posterior Cruciate ligament, (the PCL), and the Lateral Collateral ligament (the LCL). The ACL and PCL cross each other in the middle of the knee. They each attach to the femur and tibia and help to hold the bones in proper position relative to each other. The LCL attaches the femur to the tibia on the outer side of the knee and also helps to hold the bones in their proper positions. The MRI also showed a small fracture of the tibia.
"With never having suffered such an injury, I was plagued with many unknowns and questions about it all.""It's not that he painted a picture of rainbows because he was very honest and thorough about his answers to my questions, but his explanation of what was expected of me and of him was very clear."
Aron eventually had surgery by Dr. Yehyawi to repair the ruptured ligaments.
"It was a long road of recovery because my injury happened in June of 2017, and I had to go through physical therapy before I could even have surgery. Even though the surgery was scheduled for August 2017, Dr. Yehyawi wanted more time for improvement on my flexion before going through surgery. He was always looking out for my best interest. I had my surgery in September 2017 which included complete reconstruction of the ACL, PCL, and LCL with donor hamstring tendon, and the surgery lasted a long time! With continued physical therapy visits 2-3 days a week and visits with Dr. Yehyawi, I was able to walk out of COG fully recovered on August 10, 2018."
"I would highly recommend Dr. Tameem Yehyawi. His knowledge and expertise in the field of orthopedics is incredible. Not only that, he develops such a good rapport with his patients and can put anyone at ease. He knew my goals of wanting to have a full range of motion and the ability to run, lift and play sports again, and he made that possible."
Dr. Yehyawi is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy. He is a specialist in both non-surgical and surgical management of problems related primarily to the knee and shoulder such as ligament and cartilage injuries of the knee, meniscus tears, shoulder instability, labrum, and rotator cuff tears.
His team includes Greg Nagel, ATC and Ivy Roberts, LPN.
For an appointment with Dr. Yehyawi, call (573) 876-8141.