A cure for arthritic joints - Wethersfield man received total ankle replacement

by Mark Jahne

Editor

Almost everyone knows, or knows of, someone who has received a new knee or hip thanks to modern medicine. But that’s not the only joint that can be full replaced.

Advances over the past 10 years now enable physicians to perform total ankle replacement surgery. This provides significant mobility and pain-free movement for people who are suffering from such conditions as arthritis.

Dr. Lauren Geaney meets with patient Joe Marinello for a follow-up visit after total ankle replacement surgery.. Photo courtesy of Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health

Dr. Lauren Geaney, an orthopedic surgeon with UConn Health, performed such surgery on Joe Marinello of Wethersfield. He is 86 years old and thrilled with the results.

“That doctor’s great. She’s something special,” he said. “She gave us our lives back.”

Geaney specializes in foot and ankle surgery and has fellowship training in these areas of medicine. She said ankle replacements are not new but acknowledged that they are not as familiar to the public as knee and hip joint replacements.

“We started doing these in the 1970s and 1980s and they didn’t work so well,” she recalled. The artificial joints and medical skills both improved over time and “it started coming back about 15 to 20 years ago.”

She said the most common reason to perform ankle transplants is to relieve arthritis. Ankles and feet are a challenging area of the body for surgeons to work in.

“It’s complicated because there are a lot of bones,” Geaney said.

Sometimes she needs to realign the ankle and foot bones to correct abnormalities that formed over time. The replacement joints are made of half cobalt chromium and half titanium.

“A piece of plastic fits between the two surfaces,” she said.

The length of time to complete this surgery varies but in the best case it takes two and a half hours.

“We often have to do other surgeries to realign” all those bones, Geaney said. “I started my practice in 2014 and had a year of fellowship before that. We have our own orthopedic department here at UConn Health.”

She said this surgery greatly improves a patient’s ability to walk without pain and there is no longer a need for canes or walkers. The doctor explained that most people who develop ankle arthritis share a common cause.

“Eighty percent of the time somebody comes in with ankle arthritis it’s because they had trauma” such as a fractured or otherwise injured ankle at some point in their lives. “We’re trying to get people to a higher quality of life.”

That’s certainly the case for Marinello, a native of Naugatuck who has lived in Wethersfield since 1976. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and in civilian life worked for Connecticut Bank & Trust and Aetna.

He went to officer training school while in the Air Force and got to see the world as a maintenance officer.

“I did two NATO tours in Italy and one NATO tour in Turkey,” he said.

He is approaching the first anniversary of his March 25, 2025, surgery. This was followed with home physical therapy provided by Hartford Healthcare. He was heavily involved with sports in his youth.

“I hurt it playing baseball for Marietta College in 1961. Then the arthritis started building up,” he recalled.

Joe Marinello can walk again without pain or any assistive devices. He said surgery to replace a painful arthritic ankle with an artificial joint has dramatically improved the quality of his life.. Photo by Mark Jahne.

The first medical treatment beginning five years ago involved cortisone injections. But after a while they had no effect.

“I had a cane. I used that for support and took lots of Ibuprofen,” he said.

Then he made an appointment with Geaney and was immediately impressed not only by her medical credentials but by her empathy and personality.

“She’s so personable. I had a lot of confidence in her” and they schedule the surgery. “By April 28 I was in a shoe,” a fast pace of recovery he never expected at his age.

He came home from the hospital the day after surgery. A temporary bed was placed in their living room and the U.S. Veterans Administration helped set up his home to meet his recovery needs. Their children came to help.

Geaney remains in close contact with him.

“It’s incredible what she did. She had therapy all set up. I did all the exercises,” he said.

“I feel better. I can do a lot more things” including assisting his wife as needed. “She had to do it all” while he was suffering from the arthritis and having difficulty walking.

Joe and Diana Marinello have been married for 61 years. They have two children and three grandchildren. He spoke of how the new ankle has changed his life.

“Before the surgery it was very limited activities. After surgery the only things she doesn’t want me to do is climb a ladder and run. I can ride a recumbent bike, I fish, I have a garden,” he said.

There is a small scar on his ankle and he continues to do physical therapy. Marinello said he had issues with his balance prior to surgery and still exercises caution to be safe.

Diana spoke about how prior to the surgery she was so worried about her husband that she would watch him like a hawk.

“It’s definitely night and day. The last year before he had the surgery he was in much more pain. I was taking most of the load. It’s a relief for me,” she said. “It changed our lives.” WL