Art Berluti
Local radio talent feeling back to normal quickly after knee surgery in Newport
Art Berluti is a Middletown native and well-known local radio fixture on WADK AM in Newport. He has been an on-air personality with the station since 1981, serving in different roles, including as an afternoon music host; voice of the station's former "Flea Market" program; and currently, news anchor on WADK's "Morning Report” and host of a weekly public affairs program. He also found himself, unexpectedly, a patient at Newport Orthopedics, a Lifespan Physician Group practice affiliated with Newport Hospital.
“A few months back, on Super Bowl Sunday, I had a little ‘fall down and go boom' episode. I knew something was very wrong immediately—I went to the Newport Hospital emergency room, and it turned out I had fractured my left kneecap and required surgery," said Berluti, who added that his surgeon was "great: very hands-on, laid back, no ‘medicalese,’ easy to talk to, very down to earth. He took the time to explain everything and made it easy to understand. I had to have the surgery postponed, because of a little issue with my blood pressure, and he was really good about going over all of that and explaining it as well, told me not to be nervous."
“It was the same with all my follow-up appointments: he was just very thorough and easy to understand," says Berluti. "I did my rehab at Vanderbilt Rehab Center, and we all thought I’d need at least a month, but I really only needed two weeks. They were very happy with what they saw, the strength in that knee came back very fast. I got off the walker, got promoted to a cane for several days, and now I really feel back to normal.”