Orthopaedics Patient Stories

Patient stories about Orthopedics

November 8, 2024

75 Years after Accident, UAMS Surgeons, I³R Researchers Restore Greenwood Pastor’s Sense of Touch, Ability to Grip

David Robinson

Dewey Hickey was amazed at how his prosthetic hand system helped him repair his bait casting reel.

As Dewey Hickey took apart and reassembled a bait casting reel using an experimental prosthetic hand system, he marveled at the revolutionary technology that made it possible. “It amazes me,” said Hickey, who in January 2023 became the first Arkansan and only the second person in the world to receive the device, which restored his…


July 26, 2024

Memphis Doctor Becomes First Mazor Robot Patient at UAMS’ Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital

Linda Satter

Lea Bannister, M.D., arrives as a patient for a follow-up visit with David Bumpass, M.D., an UAMS orthopaedic spine surgeon, at a UAMS orthopaedic clinic in Little Rock. Bannister stands at check-in counter in blue dress

Memphis OB-GYN Lea Bannister was so excited about buying a fancy new carbon-fiber bicycle that the first time she rode it, she didn’t stop pedaling for 25 miles. It was the first time she had ridden a bike in several years, however, and at age 61, she was prone to osteoarthritis. She had already undergone…


August 11, 2023

UAMS Hand Surgeon Becomes First Surgical Patient at The Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital

Linda Satter

Lowry Barnes, M.D., performs a total knee replacement on his friend and colleague, Tom Frazier, M.D.

Just two and a half weeks after Thomas Frazier, M.D., underwent a total knee replacement as the first surgical patient at The Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), he was back to seeing patients in his orthopaedic clinic. By the third week, he was performing surgery at the…


September 10, 2021

Knee Replacement Puts LR Golfer Back in the Swing of Things

Katrina Dupins

Thanks to knee replacement surgery at UAMS, Mimi Evans is back out on the links, enjoying working on her golf game.

The gradual increase of pain in Melissa “Mimi” Evans’ knees was subtle. In 2015, her co-workers pointed out to her that she was limping, favoring her left knee. She recognized it was more of a struggle to do everyday tasks, but she was able to live with it.


June 18, 2021

Back in the Saddle: Ferndale Woman Returns to Riding after Hip Replacements

Katrina Dupins

Porter riding Jitterbug Dancer

  Linda Porter of Ferndale loves horseback riding. She began taking lessons when she was 9 years old. “That was the only way I had of riding when I was that young,” Porter said. “I didn’t get my own horse until I was about 50. But I always loved them. I love the outdoors and…


April 2, 2021

Little Rock Woman Walks Out of Hospital Two Hours After Back Surgery

Katrina Dupins

After more than a year of back pain, Sammie Rose got her life back thanks to Sam Overley, M.D., at the UAMS Orthopaedic Clinic at Colonel Glenn. Rose left the hospital two hours after her back surgery, making her the first UAMS patient to go home the same day.

When Sammie Kaye Rose woke up from her surgery on Jan. 4, she was pleased to find the back pain that kept her movement limited for more than a year was completely gone.


December 14, 2020

Sports Medicine physician Kathryn Nance Joins UAMS Orthopaedics

Linda Haymes

Kathryn L. Nance, M.D.

LITTLE ROCK — Kathryn L. Nance, M.D., a board-certified family medicine doctor who is fellowship-trained in sports medicine, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and is seeing patients at the UAMS Health Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Clinic at 10815 Colonel Glenn Road in Little Rock. She is a member of the…


November 9, 2020

Professional Figure Skater Enjoys Freedom of Movement with New Hip

Katrina Dupins

Billie on Ice

Billie O’Neel has been skating most of her life. Her first pair of roller skates were steel and they clamped onto her shoes. She wore them down to a nub. She spent a lot of time in the roller rink as a child, but when she discovered ice skating, she never looked back. Today the…


October 20, 2020

UAMS Researcher Receives $1.7 Million Grant to Study Bone Health, Exercise Connection

News Staff

"Scientists have long understood there is a connection between bone size and strength related to physical activity," said Jinhu Xiong, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.

LITTLE ROCK — A researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how physical activity improves bone health, with possible implications for bone loss from osteoporosis and aging. Jinhu Xiong, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of…


September 10, 2020

Hip Replacement at 30 Spurs New Mom to Adopt Active Lifestyle

News Staff

Steadman playing Tennis

When Jessica Steadman of Little Rock was told she’d need a double hip replacement at age 30, it felt like the end of the world. Seven years after surgery, not only is she thriving, but the experience taught her to appreciate and protect her health. Her hip pain came on suddenly in 2012 after the…



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