Facebook is where Klopfer saw an ad for a new type of surgery. Any type of replacement surgery will be a major disruption to a person’s life, but a new procedure, called Jiffy Knee, could help a person recover quicker and with less pain.
Klopfer saw three different doctors before making the decision to go with the Jiffy Knee. The doctors offering the traditional knee replacement couldn’t get Klopfer on their schedule for a couple months. However, she was able to get in with Dr. Matthew Romer, the only Jiffy Knee specialist in Dayton, within two weeks.
“I went into the surgery center in the morning, and I walked out of there and got in the car at 4 o’clock that afternoon,” Klopfer said. “I have friends my age or older who were hospitalized overnight and had all kinds of troubles. I just didn’t have any of those troubles.”
The Jiffy Knee surgery was developed by Dr. Manish Patel, with whom Romer worked during a fellowship. For a typical knee replacement surgery, the quadriceps tendon is cut making recovery longer. With the Jiffy Knee, special instruments are used to move around the muscle rather than cut it. Robotics are used and no tourniquet is utilized, which contributes to less pain. Also, the incision is more to the side of the knee rather than in front.
“Instead of patients having to start recovery with a quad or muscle that needs to heal, everything has been preserved untouched,” Romer said. “So what it leads to is a quicker return to function, less pain and a quicker ability to bend the knee.”
Romer is only one of 15 doctors in the country who can perform this surgery and the only one in Ohio. He has done approximately 200 of the Jiffy Knee surgeries in the past six months. Romer, who is a fourth-generation doctor in the Dayton area, said recovery time isn’t the only advantage.
“I’ve noticed significantly less narcotic requirement, better pain control at night, less night pain and better tolerance kneeling,” Romer said. “It’s really been a blessing to my practice and to the community to have the option of the Jiffy Knee and not have to travel to other surgeons or geographical areas.”
Sherri Raderstorf, 70, of Dayton, has had both of her knees replaced. In January 2023, she had a traditional knee replacement and the Jiffy Knee replacement in April 2024. She was ready to get her second knee done traditionally when a friend connected her with Klopfer. After meeting with Romer, Raderstorf decided on the Jiffy Knee.
Raderstorf, who is a fitness instructor, said there were a lot of differences between the traditional knee replacement and the Jiffy Knee replacement. She said after her first surgery, she was told it would take about a year to get back to normal. After three months, Raderstorf said she was able to run, play pickleball and move laterally.
“It still took that first year to get my flexion back and feel like, ‘Oh, I’m not thinking about my knee every day.’ It takes a long time and recovery is long. Those first two weeks I would label as hell on Earth,” Raderstorf said.
With the first knee surgery, Raderstorf was using a walker for 10-12 days, but with the Jiffy Knee, she was off the walker in two days. She also had insomnia with her first surgery and was on pain medication for 10 days. With Jiffy Knee, she slept through the night after three nights and she was off pain medication after 48 hours. While these are all good things, Raderstorf stresses that it is still a major surgery.
“Make no mistake, it’s still major surgery. There’s still pain and discomfort. I still can’t bend it the way I want to bend it. But it’s much less major than the [the first surgery]. But people around me can’t believe the way I’m moving and how far I’ve come,” Raderstorf said.
Raderstorf said she can’t wait to get back on the pickleball court and said she thinks she might be able to in about a month. Klopfer is traveling to Hawaii for a vacation, and she’s looking forward to being able to keep up with the kids and grandkids.
“I want to be able to hike up the mountain, and I know they’re going to go slower for me, and I know I’ll have to take rest breaks. When I was in Florida [prior to knee surgery], I would walk an eighth of a mile and have to turn around and come back. I’m walking two miles now,” Klopfer said.
Romer believes that the more the operation is performed, and the more people know about it, will help increase its popularity among those who need to have a knee replaced. It needs to be offered by more than just 15 doctors in the country.
“I just feel like the Jiffy Knee and the Jiffy Knee surgeons were the first ones to really take that leap and say, ‘Hey, there is a better option for patients.’” Romer said. “It’s technically a more challenging procedure to do, but once you learn it and adopt the technique, it doesn’t become any more difficult.”
Romer’s office is at the Orthopaedic Institute of Dayton located at 3205 Woodman Drive. An appointment can be made by calling 937-298-4417.
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