Carlos’ Story

Carlos Artaza | in-office Arthroscopy Testimonial on Dr. Jonathan Hersch
Impact Window Installer Supervisor

I was working at my job installing impact windows when I missed the last three steps off of a ten-foot A-frame ladder and did a split onto the ground below. My left knee immediately locked and then twisted due to the force of the fall from the ladder. I had torn the meniscus in the knee but I didn’t know this at the time. In my mind, I knew something was wrong.

Every time I put any pressure on my knee I would feel more pain. A friend and his daughter highly recommended Dr. Jonathan Hersch. I called Dr. Hersch’s office and they quickly scheduled my appointment and told me they could email me the paperwork needed if I liked. The thought of not having to sit in his office and fill out paperwork was real nice.

I waited less than ten minutes to meet Dr. Hersch. He asked me what happened to my leg and examined my knee. Dr. Hersch said he could analyze my knee injury right there in his office using a minimally invasive handheld arthroscopy called the mi-eye. My other option was to schedule an MRI at an imaging center and a few days later, after receiving the results, I would need to schedule another appointment with Dr. Hersch to discuss the results.

I chose the mi-eye in-office arthroscopy. Dr. Hersch applied a little anesthetic on my left knee. I felt a little bit of the anesthetic application but I didn’t feel the scope going in at all. I could feel the scope inside my knee but I didn’t feel any pain. An office mi-eye arthroscopy was quick. I know this because my son had the same injury a few years prior and it took several days to get the MRI images taken and evaluated.

Dr. Hersch showed me my meniscus was torn with all the images right then and there in his office. I was relieved when he told me I hadn’t torn anything else. Dr. Hersch explained he needed to clean up the tear so it won’t tear anymore and then I’d be able to walk. He would just cut out the tear so it wouldn’t keep ripping.

As for the in-office mi-eye arthroscopy, Dr. Hersch said there may be a little pain later on in the day but remembering back I wasn’t sore at all. Dr. Hersch told me he could see that I had a torn meniscus and showed me I was starting to have arthritis. He took the time to explain the injury. Telling me to think of the meniscus tear like if you were to begin tearing a piece of paper, eventually you’re going to tear through the paper completely until there’s no more paper left.

Dr. Hersch said I would need an arthroscopic meniscus repair, an outpatient surgical procedure. Then, he gave me a date right then and there when he could perform the procedure.
I decided to have the operation to repair my meniscus. Dr. Hersch performed the procedure at an outpatient surgery center in Delray Beach. I arrived at 9 am, had surgery at 10 am and was wheeled out of the surgery center at 11:30 am. My wife was very happy with the care I received from Dr. Hersch. She went with me and met Dr. Hersch. She liked the way he explained everything to her after the surgery of what was done to me.

I saw Dr. Hersch in his Boca Raton office the next day. I was walking the third day after the operation without any crutches. I had the surgery Thursday morning, was walking without a crutch by Sunday and back to work on Monday.

The great thing is I only missed a day of work. At first, I was doing light stuff at work like walking with an inspector to make sure the impact windows were being installed correctly. I could drive to a job site. There were little minor things I could do to stay working. My knee felt good. Now, I’m walking up and down steps at work. My knee is fixed, I feel a lot better and my confidence is back to the point I’m even back up on the ladder installing impact windows. Today, my knee feels great!