After struggling with severe arthritis in both knees, Nancy Axelrod knew it was time to finally follow her doctor’s advice and do something about it. The 59-year-old Old Field, NY, resident had been a longtime patient of orthopedic surgeon William Healy, MD, who had recommended that she get both knees replaced for years.

“I just kept trying to put it off,” Nancy said. “It finally got to the point where I had to do something. It was getting harder for me to get around, so we scheduled my left knee first.”

The first procedure went off without a hitch at Huntington Hospital. While Nancy was quite nervous about the surgery, she found herself back on her feet quickly. She said the support from Dr. Healy, the nurses and the physical therapy team helped her make a strong recovery.

“The surgery wasn’t as intense as I thought it would be,” she said. “My knee got just a little bit better every day—so on my three-week follow-up with Dr. Healy, I said I was ready to do the other one. We scheduled it for a few months later. Little did we know, we were going to be interrupted by a pandemic.”

When COVID-19 started to spread across New York state, Dr. Healy and the entire orthopedic surgery team immediately pivoted to ensure the safety of patients and staff from potential infection. They also had to wait things out a bit as nonemergent surgeries were put on hold by state order.

“Certainly, the procedure for knee replacement, in and of itself, hasn’t changed because of what’s going on,” Dr. Healy said. “But what has changed is our process, from seeing patients here in the office to meeting them at the hospital for surgery.”

Those new protocols involve a member of Dr. Healy’s team meeting patients when they drive up to the hospital on the day of surgery. They are escorted to the ambulatory surgery unit for preoperative care to ensure that they don’t cross paths with any potential COVID-19-positive patients or staff members who may work near those patients.

Dr. Healy said the team always puts patient safety at the forefront of all they do. And while there have been some hurdles along the way for patients during the pandemic, like initially not being able to have family members come with them to the preop area, they have fine-tuned those processes to now allow one guest to accompany them.

“We work hard to make sure our patients get the best care while still being safe,” he said. “We are very fortunate to have a forward-thinking administration, an engaged department and an award-winning nursing staff that can make sure we can respond to the pandemic—or any other situation we may face—and still give the highest-quality care that people have come to expect from us.”

Nancy didn’t know if her surgery would be moving forward. She was thrilled to find out a week prior that it was still on. Dr. Healy’s team carefully explained the new protocols and she immediately felt she was in good hands.

“Right away, I could see that the hospital was being really careful,” she said. “I saw each of the staff members constantly changing their gloves and washing their hands. Knowing that they were taking all of these precautions made me feel safe. And I had absolute faith in Dr. Healy—he’s very good at putting people at ease and answering any questions you may have.”

Despite all the safety precautions being taken during her second surgery, Nancy never felt as if it was fundamentally different from her first. And now, several months out, she is enjoying walking without pain.

“Honestly, it’s been life changing for me,” she said. “I don’t think I realized how much I had been suffering and how much I wasn’t comfortable doing until after these surgeries. I’m now up to walking 3 miles and enjoy going out to walk the beach with my husband. I can keep up with what everyone else is doing. I’m really enjoying it.”

Facts, guidelines and protocols related to coronavirus are constantly evolving. The protocols contained here are reflected at time of publication on November 25, 2020.