Nanoknee, is it better or merely hype?

I am glad you are so happy with the results. When I discussed with him before my surgery the type of method he would use he said it was mid vastus. He explained that subvastus would be slightly less painful but mid vastus gave him a better field of work and if a revision were necessary, a pathway for that revision. It appears from your post that he was able to fix your scar. He also did a plastic surgery close for me.

You are right that he is very approachable. I just had my six month review with him (Dr. Chow, not his PA) and he told me I had no limitations. I asked if that meant I could go on trampolines with my grandkids; he said yes. I asked if that meant I could run; he said if I wanted to.

I had to wait a bit for my surgery not only to get on his calendar but his calendar was frozen for a bit as he was recovering from rotator cuff surgery caused by a skateboarding accident. That is my kind of surgeon. I asked him who his surgeon was and he told me. One of my golfing partner's wife is having shoulder surgery on Thursday from the same surgeon who did Dr. Chow. I believe that asking physicians who they and their immediate family use is a great method to identify great doctors.

One warning for others. Dr. Chow has withdrawn from Medicare and does not generally take insurance. I am on a Medicare Advantage PPO plan (probably one of the best such plans) and the rest of the cost of the procedure was covered by my insurance; just not his fee.

I have been trying to figure out why he is so good when others do similar procedures and their patients have pain. I think it comes down to great hands and a great mind. Once the surgeon opens up the knee he has to make the tibia and femur cuts to hold the implant and resurface the patella and move it out of the way. I suspect there is artistry in exactly how that is accomplished. The patient problem is how does one find out which surgeon has great hands and a great mind. I have no answer for that other than inferring it from what you can gather.

I have a friend who is scheduled to have a "Jiffy Knee" done in Scottsdale. I was curious and one day when I was chatting with Dr. Chow I mentioned it and asked him what he thought. He replied that it depended on the skill of the surgeon. I told him the name (Timothy Kavanaugh) and Dr. Chow said he has seen no problems from that surgeon's work. That is a compliment as Dr. Chow spends about 20% of his surgical time doing revisions of other surgeons' work. A great surgeon is not afraid to praise another.

I am very happy that you have had such a great outcome.

@steveinarizona You're exactly right ... great hands and great mind. A surgeon needs to be precise and not all are. In January 2023, I had 2 meniscus tears repaired on my right knee. Almost a year after my ski accident. I struggled to walk after and this surgeon told me it was due to all the scar tissue that had formed. He said he could go in and remove it, but it would just form back. I was walking on 2 crutches at that time, very slowly. I looked at him and holding back tears asked him, "So, this is going to be the rest of my life?" He said, "I don't know what to tell you." Then I was scheduled to go to Lithuania for a Patella Femoral Replacement. A portion of the cost would have been covered by Alberta's healthcare system IF I could get a letter from a surgeon stating there was no one who could perform that surgery. I went to the surgeon who did surgery on my meniscus for this letter. He laughed at me and said he couldn't write that letter, because he can do that surgery, but he wouldn't do it on me, because I would be worse off. What went through my mind, but I bit my tongue, 'in other words, you say you can do the surgery, but you don't do it, because you don't do it well, so technically, you don't perform that particular surgery.' Another orthopaedic surgeon explained the process and you must be exact when making the angular cuts to the femur. There is no room for any error. Good hands are needed and the surgeon's attitude to be the best at their practice. Dr. Chow has both attributes.