Jill Graham’s passion for soccer hasn’t come without its costs. Over her 25-year playing career, the 46-year-old Long Beach resident has had two major surgeries to repair tears of the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and seven arthroscopic surgeries to repair damage to her left knee.
“I’m passionate about soccer to a fault—at least where my health is concerned,” said Graham, who works as a fitness coordinator for Boeing California Employee Fitness. “My husband, Pat, thinks I’m crippling myself. But soccer plays such a big part in my life. It’s probably the first thing I ever excelled at. I couldn’t even imagine my life without soccer.”
One year ago, the pain and swelling in Graham’s left knee had gotten so bad that the unthinkable—the end of her playing career—loomed. The wear and tear on her knee had reached the point that it was actually deforming the joint. Her regular orthopedist, William Mealer, MD, recommended she see Andrew Yun, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and hip and knee replacement specialist at Saint John’s Health Center’s renowned Hip and Pelvis Institute.
Dr. Yun, who also is director of orthopedics surgery at Saint John’s, specializes in performing the partial knee replacement procedure, a minimally invasive surgical alternative to total knee replacement that allows many patients to return to an active life of sports and other recreational activities.
“I asked Dr. Yun, ‘If I have this procedure, can I play soccer again?’” Graham recalled.
“I can’t tell you the joy I felt when he said yes. I thanked God, jumped up and said, ‘Let’s get it done!’”
Unlike total knee replacement surgery, which removes all of the patient’s cartilage and ligaments in addition to bone, partial knee replacement targets only the damaged area of the joint for treatment while preserving healthier portions of cartilage and ligaments.
Because partial knee replacement requires a relatively small incision (approximately 3 to 4 inches long) that does not interrupt the main muscle controlling the knee, rehabilitation is faster, hospitalization is shorter and a return to normal activities is more rapid than after a total knee replacement.
Graham had her surgery at Saint John’s on September 3, 2009. She was playing soccer again four months later. This April, she took the field with her Torrance-based team, Heat, in a national soccer tournament in Las Vegas. Graham played six games in two days, scored a couple of goals and provided assists for several others. Heat ended up winning the over-40 division title.
“It’s like having a new knee,” Graham said of her newly resurgent soccer career.
“I have no pain, other than the usual postgame aches. I have total confidence in my knee now—that’s huge for a soccer player.” Graham credits Dr. Yun and Saint John’s for allowing her to continue to indulge her passion.
“Dr. Yun is fantastic,” she said. “What he does is unbelievable. I’ve recommended him to so many other people. And the staff at Saint John’s was wonderful when I had my surgery. They were so comforting and helpful in every way.”