Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, August 16, 2023/Page 10A
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Obituaries
Ms. Melanie Davis
Melanie Gray Davis,
age 43, of Woodstock,
Georgia, died Saturday, Au
gust 12, 2023, at her home
after a brief illness. She
was a native of Uvalda and
a member of the Uvalda
Baptist Church. Melanie at
tended Vidalia City Schools
and graduated from Vidalia
High School in 1998. While
at VHS, she was a cheer
leader and participated in
the Sound Tribe Band as
a clarinetist. Also, Mela
nie was honored to be the
Homecoming Queen in
1997. Her principle after-
school activity was ballet
dancing for fourteen years
in Mrs. Christine Wooten’s
Ballet Troupe. After high
school, Melanie attended
the University of Georgia
for two years before trans
ferring to Mercer Univer
sity School of Pharmacy in
Atlanta where she received
her Doctorate in Pharmacy
in 2003. After working for
two years at several Kroger
pharmacies in the Atlanta
area, she was employed at
Kennestone Hospital in
Marietta for fifteen years.
Melanie is preceded in
death by her mother, Caro
lyn Davis; an infant sister,
Alison Davis; and grand
parents, Quinton and Elise
Davis, and Harry and Eloise
Gray.
Survivors include her
children, Sydney and Gray
son Betteridge and Jaxsyn
Dailey, both of Woodstock;
father, Jimmy Davis of Uval
da; an uncle, John Larry Da
vis of Santa Claus; a cousin,
Alexander Davis and wife
Cheryl of Aiken, South
Carolina; and a special aunt,
Rebecca Davis of the Char-
lotteville Community.
Melanie was an avid
Georgia Bulldogs and At
lanta Braves fan, but her
true and dearest love was
her three precious chil
dren. Melanie was always a
smiling, friendly, energetic,
caring person and will be
sorely missed by all who
knew her.
The family will receive
friends at the funeral home
on Wednesday morning
from 10:00 until just prior
to the service.
The memorial service
will be held on Wednesday,
August 16, 2023, at 11:00
a.m. in the chapel of Ronald
V. Hall Funeral Home with
Reverend Adrian Bell and
Reverend Wayne Durden
officiating. Burial will fol
low at the Moseley Cem
etery on Old River Road
south of Uvalda.
Flowers will be accept
ed, or memorial contribu
tions may be made to Red
Cloud Indian School, 100
Mission Drive, Pine Ridge,
South Dakota, 57770 or by
visiting their website at red-
cloudschool.org.
Ronald V. Hall
FUNERAL HOME
"Memories, of a Lifetime of Love"
Full Paid Obituary
Ms. Beverly Colson
Ms. Beverly Colson,
age 61, of Vidalia, died on
Saturday, August 12, 2023,
at Doctor’s Hospital in Au
gusta after a brief Illness.
Ms. Colson was a native
of Savannah and lived there
until moving to Toombs
County in 1984. She retired
as a correctional officer with
the Georgia State Prison in
Reidsville. She was Baptist
by faith. She is preceded
in death by her daughter,
Nicole Colson; her father,
Major Ellis Hilliard, Jr.; her
mother, Bonnie Gober;
and her stepfather, Charlie
Gober.
Her family includes
her 3 children, Garry Col
son, Jr., and wife Melinda
of Lyons, Christina Tanner
and husband Chris, and
Michelle Menard and hus
band Mike, all of Vidalia;
11 grandchildren, Brittani
Menard Taylor and hus
band Malon of Murfrees
boro, TN, Kaitlin Colson
and Tyler Colson, both of
Vidalia, Logan Harvey of
Statesboro, Dawson Harvey
of Lyons, Logan Menard
of Vidalia, Harlee King of
Minnesota, Natalie Tanner
ofVidalia, Miley King of Ly
ons, Lilly Menard and Mol
ly Tanner, both ofVidalia; 2
sisters, Kimberly Davis and
husband Byron of Savan
nah and Tina Riddle and
husband David of Tomball,
TX; 1 great-grandchild,
Jaxson Taylor; and several
nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will
be Wednesday afternoon,
August 16, at 3:00, in the
chapel of Ronald V. Hall
Funeral Home, with Pastor
Jim Smith officiating. Burial
will follow at Lakeview Me
morial Gardens.
The family will receive
friends at the funeral home
on Wednesday from 1:00
until just prior to the ser
vice.
Pallbearers are Jake
Rowland, John Daley, Josh
Davis, Shawn Cartrette, Da
mon Winn, and Brock Pavo.
Flowers are accepted,
or memorial donations may
be made to Sweet Onion
Animal Protection Society,
SOAPS, P.O. Box 210, Vida
lia, GA 30475.
Ronald V. Hall
FUNERAL HOME
"Memories, of a Lifetime of Love"
Now Streaming @
tcbbroadcasting.com
Extending Frontiers in Shoulder Surgery
Orthopaedic
Surgeon Pioneers
New Technology in
Vidalia
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
While most people
are probably not too well
informed about shoulder
surgery — until they need
it — for Dr. Brent Ponce,
this area of medicine is a
passion; in fact, he is bring
ing new technology in this
field into the Vidalia com
munity.
In 2021, Dr. Ponce
moved to Vidalia to oper
ate the Hughston Clinic
where he practices ortho
paedic surgery — care of
the musculoskeletal system
which ranges from treating
carpal tunnel syndrome
to repairing shattered fe
murs. Within orthopae
dics his area of specialty
expertise is the shoulder.
He has staff privileges at
Memorial Medical Mead
ows Hospital (MHMH)
where he just performed
a groundbreaking medical
procedure. Meadows Hos
pital has the distinction to
being the first HCA facility
in Georgia and second hos
pital in the state to serve
patients with this emerging
technology.
The Procedure
Dr. Ponce explained
that the shoulder replace
ment procedure is revolu
tionary because it makes
use of a pyrolitic carbon
implant instead of metal
and plastic. Traditionally,
metal and plastic joint ap
pliances are used for shoul
der replacement surgery.
“Pyrocarbon is less rigid,
more forgiving and has
good wear properties. With
pyrocarbon having a mod
ulus of elasticity closer to
bone than traditional metal
implants, it decreases fore-
Photo b Deborah Clark
ICON — Dr. Brent Ponce, recently recruited from the Uni
versity of Alabama at Birmingham to serve as Director of
Research for Hughston Clinic, sits in front of the portrait of
iconic Clinic founder Dr. Jack Hughston. Dr, Ponce now
practices in Vidalia and Columbus,
es that cause erosion of the
socket. It is potentially an
excellent option for some
one who is younger with
shoulder arthritis who is
striving for pain relief with
less activity limitations.”
Pyrolytic carbon, cur
rently marketed in the
medical sphere as pyro
carbon, has been around
for decades. It has been
used in missile nosecones,
at nuclear reactor sites,
in vacuum tubes, and in
personal protective gear,
among many other applica
tions. Because blood clots
do not easily form on it, it
is often used to line blood
contacting prostheses, like
prosthetic heart valves. Dr.
Ponce noted, “It is inert,
durable and lightweight. It
has been used in surgeries
to replace small joints in
fingers, wrists and elbows.”
After requiring an investi
gational device exemption
(IDE) study to assess its
safety and performance,
the FDA approved the ma
terial's use in shoulder sur-
gery.
For the thousands of
Americans that have shoul
der replacements each year,
working with a skilled sur
geon and choosing the best
implant for their specific
case can be life changing.
Dr. Ponce’s first patient to
receive a pyrocarbon hemi
arthroplasty was a 50-year-
old male with a long histo
ry of shoulder arthritis. To
treat his pain, he tried anti
inflammatory drugs, injec
tions, and physical therapy.
Unfortunately, these were
no longer helping and con
stant pain was interfering
with his quality of life. In
this case, the dilemma was
solved with a pyrocarbon
implant. Dr. Ponce chose
this option because he was
looking to give this patient
the freedom of a hemiar
throplasty with the func
tionality of a total shoulder
replacement. Dr. Ponce
noted that early after sur
gery, the patient had mini
mal discomfort and was in
less pain than he had be
fore surgery.
“Historically, the best
option for that is a total
shoulder replacement —
replacing both sides (ball
and socket) — the hu
meral head with a metal
implant and the socket
side with an ultra-high
molecular weight polyeth
ylene or "plastic" implant.
Younger patients often are
more active and a replace
ment of the ball only, a
hemiarthroplasty is often
chosen because less activ
ity limitations are placed
on patients. The challenge
in younger patients is you
have to look at the patient’s
future activities or worry
about the socket wearing
down because the metal in
the humeral head is harder
than the plastic in the sock
et. In a total shoulder re
placement, you may even
tually wear out the socket
and have to do another
surgery.”
World Class Researcher
Staying abreast of the
latest advances in ortho
paedic health care is a daily
discipline for Dr. Ponce
who serves as the Chair of
Research for the Hughston
Clinic; in fact, he is among
the top researchers in his
field not just in the United
States, but in the world. His
extensive curriculum vitae
is a testament to his experi
ence and his expertise.
Dr. Ponce was no
doubt inspired to become
a doctor because of his fa
ther, who came to the Unit
ed States from Lima, Peru,
and completed his pedi
atric residency at Cincin
nati Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Ponce’s father has told
his son that he was one of
Please see Ponce page
11A
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