HOLLAND, Mich. — A Holland Hospital orthopedic surgeon has hit a major milestone, and for patients across the lakeshore, it means getting back to the lives they love.
Dr. Derick Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon with Holland Hospital, completed his 2,000th robotic-assisted knee replacement in January, making him one of the most experienced robotic knee surgeons on the lakeshore. He is also the first orthopedic surgeon in West Michigan to be certified in Mako SmartRobotics for both partial and full knee replacements.
Patrick Clark, a public speaking coach and lifelong active person, was among those patients. Years of playing sports had taken a toll, and by early 2025, even simple activities had become painful.
"I abused myself when I was younger, playing a lot of sports, doing a lot of stupid things, and over time, I think that caught up to me, so the osteoarthritis kicked in," Clark said."It was painful. I couldn't stand for too long. I couldn't walk for too long. And my wife is a former division one athlete, so trying to keep up with her was a challenge."
Clark said the limitations left him feeling stuck.
"Being an active person and not being able to really contribute to my life the way that I wanted to, I sort of felt trapped in my own body, so I knew that I had to do something. I was getting the cortisone injections, and that just was diminishing return," Clark said.
On the recommendation of friends, Clark connected with Johnson. The experience left a strong impression.
"I was being operated on by 'the guy.' That was really cool. His reputation absolutely precedes him. He's got this amazing reputation in the community," Clark said. "[The surgery was a] huge difference maker, absolutely."
For Johnson, reaching 2,000 procedures is a reflection of the people around him as much as his own work.
"It's one of those things where, it's keep doing what we're doing. And it's kind of a testament to the team that surrounds us, to the quality that's provided here in Holland on the lakeshore," Johnson said.
Johnson said the demand for knee and hip replacements is only growing as the population ages.
"Hip and knee replacement is probably one of the most common surgeries in orthopedics," Johnson said. "Hip and knee arthritis, inflammation, pain is limiting patient function, and that is just becoming an increasing demand on keeping people more active long term."
Technology, he said, has been a key part of meeting that demand.
"It's always evolving. It's always changing, always involving implants iteration and how it's placed, less and less evasive procedures that are kind of preventing, keeping patients more functional long term," Johnson said.
Johnson uses the Mako Knee system from Stryker Corporation when performing surgery. He described how the robotic technology improves precision compared to traditional methods.
"There's precision cuts on the end of the bone where the cartilage used to be, that where the implant will fit, and that custom fit for that patient is done specifically, either through manual surgery, which I used to do prior to the robotic piece, where we have a saw blade and an eyeball to make these cuts," Johnson explained. "We can make a custom fit to that patient specifically, and a robotic arm that will come in and will mill that bone accurately and precisely within half a degree, in 10s of millimeters, which my eye can't pick up, and will place that with that precision."
For Clark, the results have been life-changing, even when the task at hand is less glamorous.
"With the winter that we've been having, I've been shoveling a lot. I've been shoveling a lot of snow, so the ability to actually contribute to that has been great, if you want to call it that," Clark joked. "I ride my bike everywhere ... But obviously with the surgeries, I've been holding off on that. But as the weather changes, I definitely hope to get back to that."
He said the entire experience has left him grateful.
"I just think that the team that was involved with this whole process was amazing here at the offices and the hospital, and then under Dr. Johnson, just an amazing team, so I'm really appreciative," Clark added.
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