Patient Testimonials - Brian

Arlington – Knee Arthroscopy

Brian caught the running bug in high school and never looked back. Over the last 30 years, he’s completed more than 80 marathons, including Boston, Chicago and New York and more than 200 other races like 10Ks, triathlons, etc. He’s run the Marine Corps Marathon 19 times in row. When he’s not training for his next race, this 48-year-old Arlington father of three is a distinguished dentist with a thriving practice in Washington, DC.

As a career endurance athlete, Brian is used to the occasional injury. But when he tore cartilage in his knee while training for the Canadian Ironman in 2005, he knew he needed a surgeon’s expertise. A friend recommended Ben Kittredge, MD, at Commonwealth Orthopaedics, and Brian felt an instant rapport. “I liked that Ben’s a marathon runner, too. He understood my athlete’s mindset and took my injury as seriously as I did,” he says.

Dr. Kittredge performed an arthroscopy of the knee, including a microfracture treatment to remove significant cartilage damage from behind Brian’s patella. The outpatient surgery took place the day before Thanksgiving and Brian was back at work the following Monday.

His knee healed quickly, too. “I thought I’d be off it for three to four months, but after just a few sessions of physical therapy I was running again on January 2,” he recalls. “I ran in the National Marathon in March, the Cherry Blossom 10-mile run in April and completed the Wisconsin Ironman that summer.”

Three years after his surgery, Brian continues his active lifestyle, running without pain and always preparing for his next big race. He just qualified for his sixth Boston Marathon, so he’ll be running up Heartbreak Hill again in the spring.