KPLC anchor undergoes state of the art knee replacement surgery

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - You've watched our beloved Agnes Derouen for years on KPLC.

But what you don't see is what goes on behind the scenes.

"When I get up, its almost like I have to wait for my knee to lock," Agnes said. "I can hear it going through clicks...click click click."

Agnes has been limping around our studio for months with what she thought was a torn meniscus.

What she found was much worse, her knee had no cartilage.

Her treatment plan? Surgery. A full knee replacement. But for Agnes, doctors are going all out at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital.

This team, spearheaded by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Nathan Cohen, is using virtual reality to map out her surgery before going under the knife, through the Oculus system.

"This operation the whole decisions have been made before she gets into the room," Cohen said. "It's faster, takes about an hour and it's accurate."

"This is actually robotic surgery before the surgery, so we do a CT scan from the hip to the ankle including the knee. CT scan goes to the company who makes the replacement and they do 3D imaging of the knee replacement, they send that to me and I actually do the knee replacement six weeks before she even gets to the operating room."

Although Agnes was hesitant to have the surgery, knowing the quality of life she'll have post-surgery made the decision easy.

Agnes took her first steps with her new knee just hours after her surgery.

Copyright 2017 KPLC. All rights reserved.