Personal Hip Stories 2010

The first time I noticed any hip pain was in 2004 when I was jogging and had a very sharp pain in my left groin area which only occurred when my left knee was raised to its highest point which didn’t occur on every run and typically when running hard uphill. The pain subsided and would only reoccur periodically during subsequent runs (I would run about 2-3 times per week) so I put off seeing an orthopedic specialist. About 6 months later while on a long walk with my family I experienced a new pain in my left groin area – very different from my running pain. This was more like a dull ache and honestly didn’t necessarily relate the two symptoms. About 6 months later I began to notice a clicking in my hip when I would move my left leg laterally (typically while shifting my position in bed).

At this point I set my first appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. After looking at an x-ray, he referred me to a specialist in St. Louis, Dr. John Clohisy (Wash U Physicians at BJC). Dr. Clohisy specializes in preserving hips in younger active patients. I was diagnosed with torn cartilage and bone spurs that had developed in my hip due to a natural occurring impingement due to the shape of my femoral head. His goal was to trim the cartilage, remove bone spurs and finally debride (shave down) a portion of the femoral head so as to diminish or eliminate the impingement and provide more life to my hip until which time I would need a hip replacement. I awoke post Op to a nurse who informed me that the doctor was unable to complete the surgery due to certain conditions but that I would be non-weight bearing for 8 weeks and would be going home that evening. Needless to say I was very surprised and disappointed but during surgery Dr. Clohisy noticed that I had very little cartilage and knew that I would require a replacement shortly and rather than doing the debridement, elected to drill some micro size holes in the surface of my femoral head which was intended to create scar tissue which would act like cartilage and hopefully lengthen the life of my joint until which time I would need the replacement. After the initial non-weight bearing period I was happy with the results because I was able to move my left leg laterally with little pain, though I still had limited motion. At this point I had heard about resurfacing but at the time it was not approved in the US. Doctor Clohisy told me that his associate, Dr. Barrack was training to perform the surgery when it would be approved by the FDA later that year. Eventually (mid 2006) I had my first appointment with Dr. Barrack who though I would make an excellent candidate for resurfacing and scheduled the surgery for later that year. About two months later, however, I had second thoughts and cancelled the surgery having heard that one should wait until the pain becomes almost unbearable. My hip pain was not typical in that it didn’t hurt all the time but primarily related to the motion of my hip. I could not go up or down a ladder, climb over a short fence, get down on my knees, etc, without exceptional pain. However, I could walk miles without much pain – I was a golfer and could walk and carry a bag 18 holes without much pain. Reaching down to get a ball out of the cup was another issue – practically impossible.

During the summer of 2008, I had an opportunity to visit with Dr. Berry at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN who had recently completed a total hip replacement for a relative. I wanted a second opinion regarding my situation and whether a replacement or resurfacing was the best solution for me. He asked me how often I woke up in the morning and told myself I needed a new hip. At that point, it was only 2-3 days a week since I could walk normally with little pain. He also told me that both a replacement and resurfacing would a good solution and it was really up to me to make that decision which I really appreciated. By Spring 2009 I had practically no motion in my left hip and constant pain and decided it was time for the resurfacing. I scheduled the surgery with Barrack for September 15, 2009. Surgery went very well and I was on cane by the first days of week three though I had quite a bit of thigh pain which subsided at about week four The Dr. Barrack mentioned that the fit was “tight” but that all went well and the placement and angles went as he had hoped. By week five I felt well enough to walk (with cane) in a 5K charity walk with my wife. I was off the cane after 6 weeks and played my first round of golf week 8. I agreed to participate in a study that tracks the metal ions in my blood.

During the final weeks just prior to my first resurfacing surgery I noticed much more pain in my right hip which was most likely to me favoring it over the bad hip while having a very active summer on the golf course. I had hoped that it would get better once the left hip was healed but later in the year admitted that it needed to be replaced as well and scheduled that surgery for Feb 9, 2010. I have read of others that put off the second hip but frankly for me there was no benefit to doing the first if the condition of the remaining hip prevented me from doing all the things that I wanted to do. That surgery was equally successful, or more so in that I was able to transfer to a cane by end of week one and Dr. Barrack mentioned that the surgery went even smoother than the first – not sure what exactly that means but I presume more room to work and get the placement perfect. For the first time in about 5 years I have virtually no pain in my hips and can stand for hours with no pain. I think the biggest challenge in front of me is not so much the strengthening but getting back my flexibility that I haven’t had for 6+ years due to the impingement in my hips.

I hope this information is helpful and would highly recommend Dr. Barrack for those considering a hip resurfacing.
 

On April 1st my left hip received the BHR from Dr. Andy Engh in Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Engh had mentioned your website as a source of information for me during my Pre-Op visit. I have enjoyed reading about the experiences of others and it has helped me to understand the challenges associated with Hip Resurfacing options. Now two weeks into Post-Op I am feeling better each day. The swelling in my left leg is reduced, the bruise on my left leg has almost disappreared and I am now on one crutch. I stopped the vicodin after one week and I am pleased with Tylenol. My discomfort is minimal and I am able to sleep through the night. Formal PT ends soon and I am looking forward to the four week mark when I can use a recumbent bike and return to work full time.

Before the surgery I was once a 7 handicap in golf, I enjoyed cycling, running, playing squash, and traveling. When I began to feel the affects of the osteoarthritis, I began taking ibuprofin frequently. Eventually the pain would not subside and I had to give up most of my activities. I went to see a surgeon about a THR and he said my days of running were over and I would need to take meds until I turned 60 and then he would do the THR operation. That was more than 10 years away! By my 50th birthday last fall my lower back and right knee were in great pain from carrying my weight and compensating for the osteoarthritis in my left hip. And as a Regional Marketing Representative for an insurance company my work on the road with heavy travel became difficult.

In January 2010 my primary physician recommended an Endoscopy when I was having a preventative colonoscopy done. The results of the Endoscopy showed that the pain meds where eating away my esophagus. He recommended I stop the meds and referred me to Dr. Engh for a consult on my osteoarthritis. What a great relief this journey has been. His staff has taken great care of me along the way and Dr. Engh took the time to answer my many questions. On the day of the surgery I went in with great confidence and had little fear. I had even done the Virtual Hip Resurfacing surgery on www.edheads.org to be prepared! Today just 14 days afterwards after the BHR I have no chronic pain in my hip. The pain from surgery is not too bad and the scar on my hip is healing quickly. But most important now is that I continue to take it easy and heal. But I truly can't wait for my renewed life ahead this summer when I can ride a bike, swing a golf club and feel good again!

Sandy


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June 17, 2010

It has now been almost 3 months since my left hip was resurfaced by Dr. Andy Engh. I have no pain from the surgery. In fact I do not take any pain medicines at all, which is not bad for a 50 year old! For the past month I have been able to use my recumbent bike, eliptical machine and moderate weight lifting a couple of times each week. When I feel any pain in the muscles of my left leg I stop and rest.

When I take a flight of stairs I think about how much stronger my left hip and leg feels than the days when I would dread this activity. And it is amazing to me that I can once again cross my leg to put on a sock! During work I am able to walk normally without a limp and I no longer feel the sharp pain when I get out of the car after a long drive of an hour or more. My air travel has been slightly delayed by the "frisking" procedure I must endure briefly after passing thru the metal detector at the airport. But I cooperate and tell the TSA agent that I am used to this with my hip replacement (it makes them go faster!). Next month I plan to return to cycling on the paved paths near my home in Northern Virginia. I will start low and try to build up my mileage. I am also beginning to swing a golf club (chipping and low irons) to stretch my muscles. I can't wait until I can play again. But I want to make sure that it is safe to do these activities so I will again take it easy.

One of the major reasons I considered hip resurfacing was to avoid the reactions my body had to the strong NSAID medicines I took for the chronic pain. I took them until I had an endoscopy in January 2010 and the doctor said my esophagus was one of the worst he had seen because it was full of ulcers. he recommended that I stop taking the medicines immediately. On June 10th I had the procedure performed again and the results were excellent. As the doctor told me, "You are completely healed. Keep doing what you are doing!". I encourage any one taking strong pain medicines to ask their physician if an endoscopy should be done. It could have been much worse for me if I did not evaluate my hip surgery options until later.

Overall I am very pleased with my recovery thus far and Dr. Engh's staff continues to check-in with me to see how I am doing. No worries here!

Sandy

 

I am currently in the hospital one day after having a BHR on my left hip. Three months ago I had the same procedure on my right hip. Hopefully I am now on my way to recovering some of the life I have lost.

Less than five years ago I was playing professional basketball and getting ready to make the transition to my new career as a fire fighter. I was completely pain free, had no indications of any pending health challenges and was excited to start another job where my physical conditioning was an asset. However, not long after starting this new career I began to notice tightness in my hip flexors and began to have a hard time squatting down. A trip to the doctor confirmed pretty narrow joint spaces and some large osteophytes forming. Surprisingly quickly I went from being able to go full out on the court and in the weight room six days a week, to struggling to pick a paper up off the floor or tie up my shoe.

Not only was I forced to dramatically change my sporting and health habits, I found myself having a harder time to do my job properly. Attacking the problem in the same way I did any deficiencies in my basketball game, I figured I just need to find the right treatment or health practitioner to solve my problem. I was told that hip resurfacing/replacement was a last resort and that I had to live with things as long as I could. I spent thousands of dollars going to different physiotherapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, acupuncture, active release technique, traditional Chinese medicine, not to mention the yoga, stretching and specific strength training I tried. Although many of these things provided temporary relief, none really changed the long-term course of hip degradation I was on. By the beginning of this year my X-rays indicated moderately severe and severe arthritis on my two hips and any day I was off the pain killers did much to confirmed this.

Having access to the community of people who have gone through similar issues on Surface Hippy really helped me make the decision I had been trying to avoid. Instead of constantly feeling "what is wrong with me" or "it can't be arthritis, I am too young", I started to get connected with the idea that this just happens to some people and the solution is pretty good. There is light on the other side of the tunnel. Mostly, the site gave me information based on first hand accounts that I could use to evaluate what different doctors were telling me.

I had more than one surgeon tell me that I should really go for a hip replacement and it would irresponsible to have a hip resurfacing. They told me the technology is still unproven, that there are too many unknowns about metal on metal issues and that there isn't any proof that patients are able to be any more active post resurfacing than they are post replacement.

Although this advice may turn out to be true if I am one of the small percentage that has any reaction to the metal ions, I am grateful to be able to hear real stories of people being very active after resurfacings. The chance I have to carry on an active lifestyle at best, or just preserve more of my femur at least, seemed to me to be worth any risks that these surgeons saw with resurfacing.

I had my right hip resurfaced in January 2010 and am happy with the results so far. Now 3 1/2 months later I am just out of my second operation and am optimistic about being fully on the road to recovery.

Eric

 

Here is my story about my hip resurfacing. It starts in October of 2006 when I went to a local doctor in southwest Michigan and had my right hip X-rayed. I wanted to make sure it was arthritis and not something else. He said it was indeed arthritis in my hip and I would have to have it replaced in three to five years. I laughed and said fat chance. After my visit I started taking glucosamine/chondroitin regularly and ibuprofen if I had pain. I am quite active and started to ballroom dance which put more stress on my right hip. The activity that hurt the most was driving. I could not drive for more that 30 minutes without pain going right down to my knee. The same pain was involved when I rode horses. During the week, while I was at work the pain was not too bad but on the weekend when I would walk extensively at the farm or do more manual labor my hip would hurt. As my hip continued to deteriorate I could not ride my horse and dance in the same day. When my leg started giving out while I was dancing I knew something had to be done.

I went to the Cleveland Clinic in August of 2009 and asked the surgeon if there was anything else I could do besides replacement. He was a replacement surgeon and strongly recommended replacement. He mentioned resurfacing but told me there were a lot of issues with it. I scheduled replacement surgery for April 29th. I had a lot of time before the surgery, so I started doing some research. I was disturbed about the restrictions that are involved with hip replacement. I read more about resurfacing and decided I needed to see Dr. Brooks at the Cleveland Clinic about this procedure. My appointment was February 24, 2010 and he said I was a candidate for resurfacing and it was scheduled for May 5, 2010, Cinco de Mayo.

Because I am from out of town Phil, Dr. Brooks' Physician's Assistant scheduled my preop examination on Tuesday May 4 to save me an extra trip to Cleveland. I traveled to Cleveland with my wife and we got a hotel room for the week. My daughter is a nurse at the Cleveland Clinic so she was with me as well. I was getting rather apprehensive and thought about going back to Michigan but decided that was a foolish thought and continued. My surgery was scheduled for 8:30 AM on Wednesday morning so I had to check in the hospital at 6:00 AM. I was taken to the pre-surgery suite at about 7:15 AM and wheeled in the operating room at 8:23 AM. I was back in my room before Noon just in time for lunch. I felt great. I of course had no pain with the spinal and was in a very positive and upbeat mood. Dr. Brooks came to see me in the afternoon and saw how well I was able to move my right leg with my "dog leash" and said as soon as the spinal wore off I could get out of bed and walk.

After I ate dinner I got out of bed, got rid of the hospital gown, and started walking with my walker. It felt great. My wife and daughter did not want me to walk too far so I spent the rest of the evening in my chair before I went back to bed. On Thursday morning I got up, got dressed and walked with my walker as much as I could. On Friday they taught me how to use crutches, made sure I could go up and down stairs and released me from the hospital at about 2:00 PM. That night we all went out to dinner at a nice restaurant in Cleveland. My wife and I spent the night in the hotel and drove back to Michigan on Saturday morning. It was a four hour drive and I really had very little pain in my leg. Saturday May, 8th happened to be my birthday and I dearly wanted to be home on my birthday so that worked out well. Oh, I should probably mention that on May 8, 2010 I turned 63.

I can't say enough about the care I received at the hospital. Cleveland Clinic took over the Euclid Hospital several years ago. The whole staff was excellent and took very good care of me. I owe a lot of my speedy recovery to Dr. Brooks who is a magician when it comes to this surgery. He did an excellent job. Unfortunately I will have to have my left hip resurfaced soon and you better believe I will be right back at Euclid Hospital with Dr. Brooks doing the resurfacing.


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July 2010

James Laveglia - Hip Resurfacing Part II

I forgot to mention that the picture is of me and my daughter 10 hours after surgery. After my stroll down the hall with my walker after dinner on Wednesday, May 5th I came back to the room and took this picture with my daughter.

I went back to work on Tuesday, May 11 for half a day. I have a desk job so that was a fairly easy task. I did half days for the rest of the week. I have to admit I was tired after being at work for just half days that week. I was not prepared for the swelling that occurred in my thigh, lower leg and foot. By the end of the day it was fairly painful and I would go home and raise my foot up. I had to wear a sneaker on my right foot for several days. The swelling lasted less than a week and although there may be a very slight amount of swelling in my ankle and foot today (8 weeks post surgery) for all practical purposes it was pretty much gone at three weeks post surgery.

I travel quite a bit and I had a trip scheduled for Japan on June 14th (5 weeks and 5 days after surgery). My 6 week check up was scheduled for June 16th so I contacted Phil and asked if I could come in for my check up on June 10th (5 weeks and 1 day after surgery). He said that was fine. They took X-rays and Phil had me walk without my crutches and told me I could go to Japan but to continue taking my aspirin until I got back. It is a 13 hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo and this was a preventative measure. Phil noticed I had a slight limp when I walked and he gave me an additional exercise to do. He told me to lay on my left side and raise my right leg as high as I could and to do this exercise 90 times a day. This was difficult in the beginning but it has really strengthened my muscles and my limp is gone.

I have been inspired by the post surgery video’s on Surface Hippy especially the video of the young lady dancing 4 weeks after surgery. I dearly wanted to make a dancing video 4 weeks after my surgery but I just could not dance very well. I continued to work on it and I did make a video of me waltzing 5 weeks after my resurfacing surgery. I will send that video to Surface Hippy. At that time I could actually dance better than I could walk. I went for my check up in Cleveland the next day and with the exercise that Phil gave me it has really improved my dancing and walking.

It has been 8 weeks since my resurfacing surgery and I can honestly say I am very happy I did this procedure and I have been very pleased with my recovery. Dancing has become a big part of my life and before my hip resurfacing I was unable to perform the Viennese Waltz as my hip would not hold up to all the movement and pressure that is required to perform this dance. I am learning that dance now and with my new resurfaced hip I am able to do the dance with no pain and my hip does not give out. We are putting together a Viennese Waltz routine for our dance competition in September and once we have the routine down I will take a video and submit it to Surface Hippy. I recommend this procedure to anybody that is thinking about hip surgery. It is truly a phenomenal procedure.

I start this story of my hip resurfacing from the hospital room the day after my surgery. The road to this point was longer and more difficult than I had initially envisioned, and I felt that others might benefit from some of my experiences, as I have benefited from reading the input from others on this excellent site.

First, a little background: I an a 66 years old – long in the tooth for most resurfacings! But, sports and an active lifestyle have been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember and my goal was to maintain this activity level. Tennis in particular is my passion, and I compete regularly in singles tournaments and league play. When not playing tennis, I ride my road bike, play racquetball and enjoy walking & hiking. Therefore, when I experienced what I thought was a groin pull in March of 2009, I was distressed that I had to layoff these activities, but I figured the injury would heal with rest. Unfortunately, it didn't. I wrapped my groin and started taking more ibuprofen but the problem just kept getting worse. Finally, I went to my local orthopod and he confirmed the diagnosis: arthritis of the right hip with bone on bone contact. He basically told me to continue going as long as I could, then come back and have a hip replacement.

After the diagnosis, I felt that I would have a year or two until surgery, so I just upped my dosage of anti-inflammatory and pressed on. Unfortunately, even going to prescription strength Mobic proved inadequate, and by November of 2009 I couldn't compete at all. Something needed to be done.

CHOOSING A PROCEDURE & FINDING A DOCTOR

When I first realized that a hip replacement was inevitable, I rather naively believed that technology had improved to a point where hip replacements were more or less routine and recovery to full mobility would be quick and easy. However, as I researched the various procedures, it soon became apparent to me that this was major surgery and there were many options, procedures, devices and other medical decisions that had to be made, and they couldn't be made in a rush. So I backed off my initial timeline and started exploring the options, particularly resurfacing vs. THR. A good tennis player and friend had one of the first BHRs here in NC when it was still experimental, and he had great results. So, that was my first area of interest and subsequent research led me to this helpful site. After studying this site and comparing the procedures, it seemed clear to me that if I wanted to return to my active lifestyle, resurfacing was the way to go.

Unfortunately, finding a doctor to do the resurfacing proved difficult. There were no doctors in the Charlotte, NC area who were on the website referral list, so I made an appointment at OrthoCarolina, the largest orthopedic group in Charlotte. The first doctor I saw said he did no resurfacings on anyone over 55, and even then, they represented only a small number of his total hip operations, so I moved on. He did suggest another doctor in the group who might do it, so I made an appointment with him. Unfortunately, the soonest I could get in was in about 2 months. In the meanwhile, I went to another orthopedic group only to discover that they did no resurfacings whatsoever.

Given the difficulty finding a surgeon locally, I called Dr Gross in Columbia, SC which is only about 90 miles south of Charlotte. Dr. Gross said he would do the procedure but that he did not accept Medicare, so that put him out. Eventually I met with the second doctor from OthoCarolina, Dr. John Masonis, who agreed to do either the resurfacing or a THR. He had been involved in a resurfacing trial and estimated he had done over 100 procedures. I would have preferred a doctor who was really "into" resurfacing, but he was a doctor with a good reputation who had been recommended to me by several other athletes who had their hips/knees operated on. Surgery was set for May 17, 2010.

I started getting cold feet as the surgery date drew near. I had stopped those activities that were really bothering my hip in November, so not surprisingly, by May the pain had lessened and I started second guessing my decision to go ahead with this major surgery. But, I tried a couple sets of tennis and a golf round the week before the surgery, and all the pain returned, so my conviction returned as well.

SURGERY AND HOSPITAL

I had the first scheduled surgery time which supposedly is good, but I was not excited to be on the road to the hospital at 4:30 a.m. for the 5:00 a.m. show. But once I got over this obstacle, I was admitted quickly and sent to prep right away. Certainly better than sitting around and waiting. In surgery prep they started the antibiotic IVs and completed the other preliminaries. The anesthesiologist stopped by to brief me on the spinal I would get. He told me that I would be given a mild anesthetic which would enable me to be awake enough to sit up for the spinal, but groggy enough that I wouldn't remember it. It worked liked a charm. I don't remember the spinal, the catheter or the operation at all, and I awoke in the recovery room with the operation complete. Shortly thereafter I was wheeled to my room…..total time from prep to room: about 3 ½ hours. The doctor chose an anterior incision, so I had a long scar running up the top of thigh to just above my hip bone. I also had a blood drain attached and it drained for about 3 days.

I stayed in bed the rest of the day. Dilaudid was hooked up to my IV and could be administered on demand by pressing a button. Initially, I tried to limit use to one shot every other hour but the nurses assured me that it could be administered more frequently. The first night was not very restful with the nurses making frequent visits. Also, I was trying to sleep on my back, the pressure cuffs where inflating periodically on my legs (to prevent clots) and I had a bad case of night sweats….all pretty normal stuff. The next day I started PT, learning to walk with crutches. The second night was better as the nurses cut down on visits, I could sleep on my side and I was more generous with the Dilaudid applications. The night sweats were still bad, however.

After some morning PT on the third day, I was released from the hospital and headed home around noon. Since I live alone, my daughter arrived to help out for the rest of the week. You're pretty helpless your first days back so a helper is absolutely essential.

RECOVERY

My recovery was complicated by two factors: first, the doctor's orders dictated no weight bearing for the first two weeks and 50% weight bearing for the second two weeks. The second factor was that I live alone, and my daughter had to return to work after the first week. While many friends provided food and ran errands, and my sweetheart came over after work every day to make dinner, I was nevertheless on my own during the day. I soon realized how difficult it was to do everyday tasks when you are on crutches and one leg. Like, how do you carry your morning coffee from the pot to the dining room table? Also, my bedroom is on the second floor of the house and I had no downstairs alternatives.

In order to cope with life on my own during the day, I developed a few techniques which I found helpful. My daughter bought a metal basked which affixed to the walker so I had a way to transport articles and food short distances around the lower level of the house. For getting up and down stairs with the crutches, I found a large canvas bag which I could hang around my neck to carry things I needed upstairs while still having my hands free for the crutches/banister. I also took home a urine collection bottle from the hospital, so I didn't have to go all the way to the bathroom when I had to go in the night. Unfortunately, I then had to use my around-the-neck-bag to transport the urine the next day to the toilet - not a very pleasant experience - but I guess you do what you have to do.

I was somewhat confused by the non-weight bearing orders, given that all I have read on this site indicates that most of the BHR patients are weight bearing immediately. I tried to get a clarification on this from the doctor but the only explanation was that this was “his protocol.” Everybody says “listen to your doctor” so I tried to be compliant. I had regular visits from a PT, but given the restrictions, all we could do is practice going up and down stairs and going for walks with the crutches.

When I first got home, I was taking Percocet for pain. While it was helpful, it gave me constipation that was resistant to all over the counter medication. I tried them all: Citrocell, Ex Lax, stool softeners, Milk of Magnesia. Finally, after a week, the pain from the constipation was worse than the hip pain, so I stopped the Percocet completely, and 12 hours later, all was well.

I replaced the Percocet with Tylenol, but as week 2 wore on, the pain lessened to a point where I would take the pills only once or twice a day. By the end of week two I could tell that healing was well underway. I didn't need to take any Tylenol, the night sweats were significantly reduced and I was able to walk increasing distances with my crutches. I started weaning myself onto one crutch while indoors but maintained both crutches for outdoor walking to at least attempt to comply with the doctor's directive. The biggest problem at this point was terminal boredom and cabin fever, although I was able to get out periodically. It gave me new empathy for those who are shut-in permanently!

My doctor used the anterior incision procedure and then used internal stitches and glue to seal the incision. Thus there were no staples to remove and I was able to shower early on in my recovery. Healing of the wound was fine and without pain, as if often not the case with staples.

By week 4 I was walking comfortably with one crutch, was able to get to the pool in the neighborhood for some water exercise, and was practicing getting in and out of my car. Since the surgery was on my right leg, I had to be sure I have enough strength in the leg to lift the foot from the accelerator to the brake. Fortunately, in my car the pedals are close together, and by taking off my sandals, my heel moved smoothly to the brake. I eventually got to a point where I was comfortable driving around the neighborhood and to the local grocery store. Just this small measure of freedom was exhilarating!

By the end of week 4 I was off the Coumadin( and back on beer!) and was walking with only a cane. I was frustrated by an inability to get clarifying information of what I could and could not do under the “50% weight bearing limit” so I took it upon myself to proceed at a pace I felt comfortable with.. On my 4 weeks anniversary I went to the cane on and off and felt comfortable although still limping.

My 4 week checkup with the doctor went fine. The x-rays all showed normal, and I was basically cleared to do anything I wanted to do. So, I am dedicating the rest of this month and next to regaining the muscle strength I have lost, losing my limp and regaining some conditioning. At this stage, I'd say my progress has been good and I am cautiously optimistic. I don't have pain in the hip but I still have a pronounced limp and major range of motion problems. I had to have a friend help with put on my sock for my first trip to the sport center. My goal is to return to the tennis court by late Aug./early Sept. and to be competitive by Oct. I'll keep this site posted.

In closing, I just wanted to compliment this site for the information and support it has give me over this entire process. It was most informative and helpful. If I can give back to anyone something more than I have already written, please don't hesitate to drop me an email at rshipman3@carolina.rr.com
 

I am a 49 year old state highway heavy equipment operator. I have arthritis all through my body. Over the years my hip gave me some trouble but it would come and go until 2 1/2 years ago when it came and stayed. The pain got worse and worse until I was no longer able to hunt, fish, and on some days, I was unable to even do my job. The deciding factor was when my wife and I could no longer enjoy our 2008 Yamaha venture motorcycle. The pain was so bad I had to stop every 30 minutes and fall off (there was no graceful way for me to get off and on the cycle anymore and my rides were becoming few and far between.

Where we live no doctor will touch anyone for hip replacement younger than 60 years old, no matter how much pain you are in. I was lucky to know that my neighbor, also a young 47 had her hip resurfaced by Dr. Mont the previous year and she was doing great. We have great insurance that did not require referrals so my wife called on April 26, 2010 and I was shocked that I got an appointment on May 20, 2010.

I took my x-rays but they did new ones as soon as I got there. I figured I would see a phy. assit. and would have to come back to speak to the surgeon. NOPE. Dr. Mont came in and said I was perfect for surgery and that he had an opening on June 16, 2010. NO MRI. NO HIMHAWING AROUND. JUST EASY TO UNDERSTAND STRAIGHT TALK. So we took it.

I have never had any medical procedures of any kind done over the past 48 years, so all this was new to me. Dr. Mont assured me that he and his staff would make this as pleasant an experience as possible. The next few weeks before surgery went quickly.

I had pre-surgery testing. A physical (full exam) an ekg, a chest x-ray and lots of blood work. Except for some minor hbp all went well. Mt. Sinai does have a hotel/guest house on campus but it fills up quickly so if you are coming from out of town you need to call asap. We had to stay at a motel about a mile away.

We arrived early on the day of surgery (about 6:45am) and surgery was for10:15 am. The only thing we didn't like was that they take the patient in first. Put in the iv and get them in bed before a family member could come in. Being it was my first time I would have liked my wife there from the beginning. Then you get the 1000 questions. Ted stockings. You speak to the anesthesiologist and decide on general or spinal. I took spinal and I am glad I did. You won't remember anything.

When I woke up, Jill said I was a rough one and that they almost went to a thr, but Dr. Mont did get the resurfacing done. The normal incision size is 4-5 1/2 inches. Mine was 8 1/2 inches. No staples either. Dissolvable stitches. THE FIRST 30 HOURS ARE HELL. SO BE PREPARED. The pain pump does control pain but made me sick to my stomach, not nauseated. Just could not keep anything down and believe me, you will love the catheter for that first night. I also loved the compression machine on my legs. It was like getting a massage on your legs.

Day 2 catheter gone. Pain pump gone.. Pt got me up. SHOCKINGLY PAINFUL. Had to find something to control my pain so I could sleep. They did and I slept great all night.

What a difference day 3 made. Got me up and walked down the hall. I was ready to go home. We arrived home after a 3 hour ride and it has been awesome ever since, I am 1 week out and I am on a cane. I am driving (it was my left hip) . I take no percocet except 1 before bed.

I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW HOW GREAT DR. MONT'S TEAM IS. JILL WAS AN ANGEL TO MY WIFE AND WE APPRECIATED HER SO MUCH. BUT EVERYONE WAS GREAT. THE NURSES IN SURGERY (ONE EVEN HELD MY HAND BEFORE SURGERY STARTED) IN RECOVERY AND ON THE FLOOR WERE AWESOME. A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO TERESA, KRISSI AND DAVID (THEY WERE MY NURSES ON THE 3RD FLOOR) WITHOUT THEM I WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THE GREAT EXPERIENCE I HAD. MY advice. DON'T WAIT AND STAY IN PAIN. GET YOUR LIFE BACK. CALL THE MIRACLE WORKERS AT DR. MONT'S OFFICE. I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A HEART BEAT. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. THANK YOU.

WAYNE AND CINDY
 

In January of 2010, at age 38, I had the difficult decision of what to do about an ailing right hip that had been diagnosed as moving toward advanced osteoarthritis. I first experienced pain in the joint at the age of 26 when my regular doctor told that I should restrict my physical activity (i.e., stop running) and that I would likely need a hip replacement within 6-8 years. That just didn’t really seem like an option for me at that early age. I had been very athletic and active my whole life – starting with basketball, football and track through college and then playing competitive ultimate Frisbee since then, up to 3-4 days a week. Besides, I was still fairly mobile—the rest of my body worked fine—and I was still able to play all the sports I loved. So, despite my family doctor’s advice, I continued my regular activities for the next 12 years, just cutting back when I felt soreness or the stiffness became too painful. Over time, I realized I had to cut basketball out of my activities because it would leave me sore throughout the next day. Then running even a few miles would leave me sore as well. I noticed myself slowly having to cut back on activities I loved because of the pain and stiffness in the hip joint.

I visited a newer family doctor in late 2009 to inquire about what was possible. He told me I "have the hip of a 70 year old," and that I was probably a good candidate for hip replacement. He respected the fact that I was still very active, playing competitive ultimate Frisbee (now at the coed level) and wanted to see that I could continue that. He told me about new developments in hip replacement—namely, hip resurfacing—and referred me to an orthopedic surgeon who he said "wasn’t a surgery nut" and would give me a fairly objective opinion on my options. After I saw him and expressed an interest in hip resurfacing, he referred me to Dr. James Rector in Boulder, CO. I talked with Dr. Rector and he thought I’d be a very good candidate for hip resurfacing. So, after doing a couple weeks of research on the procedure (including quite a bit on the Surface Hippy site, which was a great resource), I decided to go ahead with it, and I scheduled an appointment for late January 2010.

My early post-op recovery was, by all measures, excellent. I was off of all pain meds within 5 days after surgery, I was walking with one crutch at about 9 days, I was walking without crutches by two weeks, and I was driving by 16 days after surgery! In weeks 2 & 3, I would sometimes use a crutch when going on longer walks, because I really wanted to work on maintaining a normal gait, since I didn’t want to normalize any kind of limp which I would still fall into doing sometimes without a crutch. The limp was not so much out of pain as because of the relative stiffness in the joint that was operated on.

I was very committed to making a strong and quick (as possible) recovery. For the first 3 weeks of PT (2 weeks at-home, 1 week outpatient), I worked on the standard exercises they typically give you for post-op strengthening and increasing range of motion. They were great, and I did them religiously every day. When I got to about 3 ½ weeks, I’d pretty much exhausted what they could offer in terms of PT and I got the go-ahead to get onto a stationary bike, and by 5 weeks I was even on the elliptical machine doing 15-20 minute workouts. By about 6 weeks, I decided to get a pool membership and begin working on some water aerobics, which were nice because they allowed me to work on my range of motion without much impact on the joint.

At about 2 months, I felt relatively mobile – I could go on long walks and I was in the gym doing light weights. I’d bike 2 miles to work every day, and I’d go to the pool when I could. It was about that time that I began doing plyometric exercises – the kind that runners and other athletes do to stretch and strengthen muscles—focusing on the ones that did not require any high impact. It was these exercises that made the biggest difference, I think, in speeding my recovery (I would be happy to share those that I did). I focused on ones that strengthened and helped stretch the hip-flexor and quad area muscles, as those seemed to remain the weakest muscles for me (particularly when lifting the knee and extending the leg forward). I continued to do these, along with weights and low impact cardio work, until about 12 weeks post op, when I added beginners’ yoga classes. I didn’t push myself to do everything in the class; just what I could without pain or without breaking the restrictions explained by my surgeon. Between these classes and the plyos, I was able to figure out what muscles seemed to be coming back strong and which remained weaker and needed more attention. Since I still had one fairly strong hip, I was able to use it as a barometer for what "normal" should feel like in terms of strength and flexibility. I made it to the gym 4-5 days a week, for about 1 – 1 ½ hours each time, working on plyos, stretching to increase range of motion, and weights (increasing to moderate by month 3).

When I saw my surgeon for a 3 month appointment, I was doing pretty well. My range of motion – bringing my knee toward my chest—still had a way to go and was limited and somewhat painful if I tried to stretch it too far. Otherwise, the joint strength felt good. He said things looked good, and told me I should keep up with the biking, weights, stretches, and that I could hike as long as I wanted. He told me I should not be doing any running until a full year after the surgery (beyond running to cross the street or something like that). I told him I was doing low impact plyos, and he seemed fine with that. Strangely, he also told me that he thought I could return to playing ultimate Frisbee by about 5-6 months post-op, which made me think: I don’t think he know what ultimate Frisbee is. For those who aren’t familiar, it’s a lot like soccer in terms of sprinting, cutting, jumping, changing direction, etc. So it didn’t make much sense to me, especially when he told me not to run for a year! I tried to explain to him what the sport was, but I’m not sure he ever got the idea of Frisbee golf out of his head – which is a whole different game! He said the fact that it was on a soft surface (grass) – rather than long-distance repetitive motion on something like concrete—made it less taxing on the new joint. He told me ever after the year of no running, I should refrain from playing much basketball. I’ve resigned to doing that for the long term health of the hip joint.

Even though I expected to be in rehab, I committed to be the conditioning coach for the local competitive co-ed ultimate Frisbee team. At about 3 months and one week post-op, I started hosting twice a week, early season track workouts. These included a lot of sprinting exercises, like short recovery sets of 6 x70 yard sprints (1:1 run/rest ratio), with 2 minute recoveries in between, 3 sets total in each workout. Since it was spring, the track infield was very soft, lush grass, so I decided to participate in the workouts on the track infield while they ran on the surfaced track. While I didn’t have full range of motion, my strength was good, and I had enough motion to run relatively normally at the 70-75% speed range. I felt as if the plyometric exercises I‘d been doing prepared my muscles for these types of movements, and I only pushed myself to the point where I felt no real pain at all doing it. I did the "sprints" relatively painlessly, although I was sucking wind because it was the first real cardio work I had done beyond the elliptical machine, which I rarely did at sprinters’ pace because I hated sweating all over the equipment! I was a little sore after the first couple of workouts, mostly in the muscles in the front of my hip, rather than in the joint itself. I’d still be able to bike home, and I was fine by the end of the next day. I never took any pain meds or anti-inflammatory drugs during my early recovery process because I figured if I needed them, I was probably trying to do too much. I kept up the 2 a week (soft) track workouts – largely sprinting, with minimal jogging (less than ½ mile to warm up before stretching) for the next 3 weeks. The reason I did as little jogging as possible was because I was more worried about what the repetitive motion of longer distance jogging would do to my joint than with the sprinting, which was bursts of about 10-15 seconds of running on a soft surface. I’m not saying my logic is medically confirmed, it was just the feeling I had. I also continued to do stretching to increase my range of motion on the days I wasn’t sprinting, as well as some low-impact plyometric stretching and strengthening. If I felt any kind of prolonged pain that could cause me to limp, for example, I would take a day or two off, because while I wanted to come back as fast as I could, I didn’t want to do it too fast. I let pain be my guide.

At about 4 months, I began to add a host of higher impact plyometric exercises to my routine – e.g., high knees, hoping, jumping, bounding, although I had been mixing them in, to some degree, for the previous couple of weeks. I also added some change or direction or "cutting" running drills into the sprinting track workouts – like ladder sprints, where you run 10 yrs and back, then 20 and back, and then 30 and back. I continued these on the soft grass and I changed into cleats so that I wouldn’t slip at all on the turns. I eased into these because I wasn’t sure how my body would respond, but it responded well. The worst part is that the operated hip was still stiffer than the good hip, and I didn’t want to create an imbalance in my stride or muscles by sprinting/cutting too hard one way and not the other. So I only did them at the speed that was within my comfortable flexibility range on both legs, which at that time was about 75% of what I would consider maximum. As it turned out, changing direction did not feel hard on the joint, but changing speed (slow to fast) was a bit difficult because it requires different muscles to slow down and speed up quickly, and I realized I needed some time to get those back.

At 4 ½ months post-op, our team had our first 2-day tournament. I didn’t expect to play, as I really hadn’t done any live-action running and cutting other than very controlled drills. However, I convinced our captain, who called the field lines on our team, to put me in for a few points at a position where I was less likely to have to run or chase people all over the field but would still have to make relatively quick cuts and changes of direction (at the "handler" position, for those who know the sport). I wasn’t super fast or quick, but I was okay! The second day, I took a lot more points, and even played some of the tough, final points in a competitive semi-final game. In that game, I found that having to chase around a quicker opponent was stressing the inside groin muscle on the operated leg, so I wisely benched myself for the final game, not wanting to put my progress back.

My groin was sore for a day or two after the weekend tournament, but I continued to stretch it, and found that all the running I had done had really begun to loosen up the joint and extend the range of motion – still not back to normal but closer to 80-85% - I was finally able to bring my knee to my nose while having one leg on the ground and the operated leg bent on the seat of a chair (that had been my goal for about 2 months. To get this flexibility, I found it helpful to do 5 minute deep stretches, which my PT had recommended. This meant that without pushing too hard at once, I could work on elongating the muscles in the joint over time rather than trying to do anything to force them quickly. It seemed to me to be a safer way to increase range of motion. After 5 minutes of the stretch, my leg would sort of get "stuck" in this position, but after I’d slowly ease my leg back down with my arms and set it straight, it would take just several seconds to return to its regular state. I certainly have a new found respect for the resiliency of human musculature!

At about 5 months post-op, which was the Fourth of July weekend 2010, I attended a 3 day ultimate Frisbee tournament in Seattle Washington. It had been my goal from the day I scheduled the surgery to be able to play in this tournament. It’s much more of a "fun" than competitive tournament, so I wasn’t worried about having to impress or play 100% all of the time. We played 3 - 1 ½ hour games each day, over three days, and I played in each game. I started fairly cautiously on day 1, and I did a lot of standard and plyometric stretching exercises before and after the games. I didn’t entirely feel like my old self – I’m usually the person who doesn’t get tired running and jumping around, but I was definitely tired, both in terms of muscles and lung capacity, but that is typical enough given where I was in my rehab. After day 1 and 2, I was sore, but it was the typical sore – hamstring muscles, a little in the hip flexors on both sides, but nothing that different than before the surgery. If anything, my non-operated hip was a bit sorer than the operated one, and this has generally been the case since I started doing more of the "cutting" types of sprinting activities. My assumption about why this is true is because the operated hip does not have full 100% flexibility—and sometimes I do run at 100%--as a result, the other leg has to compensate a bit. That is why I continue to make it a top priority to get as full a range of motion back in the operated hip as I can, and for me it has taken on-going commitment and work. Anyway, by the end of day 3, I was pretty much feeling like my old self – I was sprinting well, cutting well, and jumping well. I was very pleased to hear my teammate say "welcome back" after the final game, when I played as well as anyone on the field, and played a key role in turning at 6-1 deficit into a 9-6 win for our team!

I just got back from the Seattle tournament last night, and I decided to take time to write this long story. I know that in my own process of deciding on the BHR surgery and undertaking rehab, I depended on, and found strength in, the stories of others who have posted on this site. The stories gave me the confidence to go ahead with the surgery and made me believe a strong recovery was possible.

Even though I was very methodological about my recovery process, I would not suggest that others go against their surgeons orders on how to best assure a successful recovery. Medical doctors know much more about stuff than I do. I only know my body, and I listened to it as best I could, and although I pushed it at times, I always pulled back when pain or discomfort told me I should. And I was very good about heeding the post-op restrictions for the first few months of recovery. In the end, I’m very pleased with my recovery to date. My old real worry is about how long the joint may last, because of course no one knows for sure. But being where I am, 5 months post-op, I couldn’t be happier, and I wanted to share my story.

 

My DOB is 03/27/1969.

My History:

I had an auto accident in Dec 1994 and ended up with a broken femur on both legs. They did a IM nailing on both legs.

I have been playing tennis since 1995 till now and play 3-4 times a week. In Jan 2009, I started developing pain in right hip area and I found out that I had a osteo arthritic condition (could be due to trauma from before) and it was literally bone on bone. I took my time to decide on surgery date and continued to play tennis with taking Advil after the games.

Then I consulted Dr. Ratterman in June 2009 and he pretty much came out and said that BHR is the best option for me due to my age. I went back to him in April 2010 to solidify surgery dates and finally got it done on June 16th. Total joint Replacement was also an option on the table but he managed to do BHR. But he also had to remove the screw on top of the IM nailing to make room. So, I am told I will need to be on walker for a month. I am responding to PT really well.

Looking forward to continue to active outdoor life but will do so after I heal well. My surgeon Dr. Ratterman referred me to your site. Your site has been an inspiration to all of us and Keep up the good work!

Regards,
Sriram

One month ago, I lay in Sinai Hospital in Baltimore recovering from bilateral hip resurfacing a la Dr. Michael Mont. I'm a 49 year old active married professional woman 2 kids from Philadelphia with severe osteoarthritis. Your website helped lead me to Dr Mont after failing to find a surgeon I trusted in the Philly area, notwithstanding all our fine orthopedic hospitals/doctors. The three prior surgeons I interviewed were all anxious to replace my young 49 year old hips and recommended against resurfacing, citing amorphous risks of metal ion contamination and osteoporosis fracture risks. I sensed they just didn't want to do the surgery and wondered aloud what I would do if I needed a revision in 20 years? The women in my family live well into their nineties, so this is a legitimate concern for me. I had suffered from the arthritis for about three years and acted only when it became unbearable because I don't like to be out of the game. But when I couldn't ride my horse or my bike, coach soccer, walk my dogs, garden or go skiing with my family, it was time to get radical.

My initial appointment with Dr Mont was in July 2009, and he didn't rush me at all, spent all the time I needed with me and seemed to actually care about me. I questioned if he was actually a surgeon since he also had a personality. He laughed. I scheduled surgery for January 2010, the soonest I could do it, and was essentially handicapped on a cane with 6 vicoden a day for pain before I headed in for surgery. I had each hip done, one week apart, and spent three days in the hospital each time. Immediately after the hospital, I went to Genesis at Brightwood, a skilled nursing center in the Baltimore county area, for rehab for a week before heading home.

Four weeks out now, I am on a cane, twice a week outpatient PT (pain and torture) having graduated from a walker. My arthritic pain is totally gone, no medication needed and my incisions are healing well. The only issue I am having now is that the muscles down the front of my thighs are so tight from stooping over during the arthritis period, it seems to be taking forever to stretch back out so I can stand up straight. So I continue to work on my gait, and I go back to work in two weeks. I have a 5 week follow up appointment with Dr Mont in ten days so I'm hoping for a green light to my prior active life. No regrets about anything and I am so blessed by your website resource. I will continue updates as I progress.

Maggie