So what does knee replacement look like? Valve repair? Vasectomy reversal?

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Knee replacement and hip resurfacing don’t have to mean the end of that go-go-go lifestyle, as Jeannine Stein reported earlier Tuesday on Booster Shots. But promises of an active existence aside, not knowing what to expect from the surgery can make even the most pain-riddled patients reluctant to say goodbye to the joints with which they were born.

Time for a visit to the surgery video library! (If you dare....) The ever-reliable MedlinePlus offers a variety of surgical videos from which to choose. Each has interviews, medical explanations and, of course, scenes of the procedure in question. There are 10 in the knee replacement category alone (here’s one), but why stop there?

You can also watch a hip replacement (complete with hammer pounding away at the joint), mitral valve repair, laparoscopic adrenalectomy, vasectomy reversal, living donor kidney transplant ....

These are not videos for those easily made squeamish. But they are enlightening.

As for that go-go-go lifestyle, here’s the earlier blog post. Assuming you can watch the video of your choice without losing the desire to get off the couch, much less play sports, it’s yours for the taking.

-- Tami Dennis