@babette That is my knee, and I presume the doctor who did my TKR. The large amount he made is of course profits from other doctors using that knee, not being paid by Conformis for using it himself.
It is refreshing to see doctors whose profits from drug companies and device companies are under $100. They have their patient's best interest at heart, not their wallets.
JK

Good Morning, Babette (and all) -

Yes... this is interesting stuff (and if you're like me - a little surprising that people who are so well compensated...
figure endless ways of "getting a little more"). This is now very common. I guess I don't draw a whole lot of
conclusions from his vs other surgeon's "additional earnings". My questions for any surgeon would be - how
involved will YOU be during my recovery and is there a coordinated care plan (ideally there would be a nearly
seamless hand-off to physical therapists who would stay in contact with the surgeon and fully report on your
progress). If he (or she) waffles on answering these questions, personally - I'd say find someone else despite
their qualifications. The potential problems are not generally caused by their lack of skill as a surgeon, but more
by a lack of willingness (or in some cases - a determination to not under any circumstances) to involve themselves
in anything OTHER than just the surgery (and the healing of the surgical incision - which generally includes making
sure there is no infection concern related to the surgery).

Based on what I think I have learned (personally - and in conversations with others)... where there are inflammation
problems (which are common) during initial stages of recovery - the race to make gains before enough scar tissue
results to halt the progress can be lost by the patient because of generall failures in communication (regarding that
there is a serious problem emerging) between the patient, physical therapist, and surgeon (sometimes also the PCP
where he has stayed a little involved and is aware of the situation). All the medical professionals in this situation defer
to the surgeon - and no one of these wants to make too much noise about patient concerns (although they all are
completely aware this is a time loaded situation). Unfortunately, maintaining these "professional relationships" seems
more highly regarded than patient concerns/distress and it is common that these are discouraged or explained away
as "normal progress".

When I read about that X10 machine and how it came to be developed (by an orthopedic surgeon - a Dr. Halley)
because of him seeing so many problems with his own patients and because of NOT seeing better results with
use of a CPM immediately after the TKR surgery. While this is no kind of "magic" - it is at least an attempt by a
surgeon to help patients recover in response to what he was seeing, rather than just standing back and letting
"this" continue to happen.

I think I'm going to try to do a little further research on what "other countries" (other than the US) are doing so far
as how they are avoiding or helping patients progress through more problematic recoveries. I think we (as US
citizens) tend to think that WE know best regarding how we handle heathcare (and maybe everything else). The
statistical numbers (how much we spend as a percentage of GNP for healthcare - and what our outcomes are)
just don't "add up" favorably for what we are doing. Generally we spend (a lot) more - and get (a whole lot) less.
Even though this is an older program, I recommend Frontline's "Sick Around the World" (which basically looks at
8-9 democratic market economies... some with "public" care and some with "private" care, but single payer through
taxes (and by the way - not higher taxes than what we already pay). What all these other countries have in common
is that they lack a medical insurance industry...period. I think "the way" we receive health care in this country skews
the motivations of those providing it - and in some cases (I think) puts surgical patients at greater risk. Anyway...
this is all interesting stuff (please draw your own conclusions). I think we might all agree... we can do better.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/
My best to you (Babette - and all),

John