IĂâve always been an athlete. In my 40Ăâs and 50Ăâs, I was running, swimming, rowing, and practicing martial arts. Martial arts was the first to go. The kicks made my hip so sore I would limp through the day and hurt through the night. Then, the running had to stop, then the skiing and finally, hiking was out. Slowly, my athletic world became smaller. On a good day, I could go for a brisk walk, but soon, even a modest hill was difficult and the pain got worse.
Walking seemedlike such a basic human right! Something you should be able to take for granted, but no more. Getting out of a chair required major effort.
I tried everything to find a remedyĂâhours in the gym on a stationary bike, stretching, yoga, glucosamine, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapyĂâ nothing worked. At best, I fought the erosion to a standstill. But it wasnĂât getting any better. This was the first injury I couldnĂât seem to recover from and it hit me hard. Finally, reluctantly, I made an appointment with a recommended orthopedic surgeon.
The orthopedic surgeon slapped the X–Ray up on the display and without hesitation said, ĂâYep, you got bone on bone in your left hip. ThatĂâs a total hip replacement waiting to happen. Wait Ăâtil you canĂât stand the pain any more and then come see me for surgery.Ăâ
There seemed to be little to talk about or explain. My only option was outlined and I was out of that office in a few minutes. The only good thing was that I had finally seen a picture of what had been giving me so much pain for more than two years. There was simply no cartilage left in my hip. It was easy to see on the X–Ray.
Two more orthopedic surgeons were consulted and said the same thing as the first. I learned the reason I should wait as long as possible was because I was only 58 and the hip replacements lasted 10–15 years (or less if you go back to athletic endeavors). They could ĂâreviseĂâ it (a nice word for a nasty operation involving chipping out the old prosthesis, losing some more bone, and gluing in a new one), but they could only do this once or maybe twice and then you were headed for a wheelchair. They wanted me to wait so I only needed one before I died!
I realized this meant more of my life was going by without hiking, walking, dancing, skiing, rowing, tai chi and chasing grandchildren. Maybe I was living, but that wasnĂât my idea of LIFE. And while the life after surgery described by the surgeons was pain free, it lacked the activity and athletics that meant so much to me. I couldnĂât accept that there werenĂât other options until IĂâd done all the research I could.
I was on my own, in foreign territory, without a mapĂâŚbut I had Google, a brain and a basic instinct for research. I was also singularly determined. I wanted my life back and I was going to make sure I knew as much about this situation as possible before making any decisions.
I started to Google everything. I started with Ăâhip painĂâ and I went to Ăâarthritis in the hipĂâ. Each search gave me new words, I began to learn the language of hip surgery. I read papers, advertisements, scams, medical journals, checked out lots of websites, sifting the information into piles.
I discovered a relatively new procedure in the field called Ăâhip resurfacingĂâ which had been developed specifically for younger, active people. It preserved bone and avoided lopping off the top of the femur like in hip replacement. It was more like capping a tooth where they donĂât yank the tooth, they grind it down a bit and put a cap on it. The basic loading stayed the same.
The results looked good over the last 10 years. Why hadnĂât any of my surgeons mentioned this to me as a possibility? I queried the one I thought was the best. He said with honesty that he hadnĂât learned how to do it and didnĂât know any doctors in Texas who had done enough of them for him to refer me. It was a straight answer.
Back to the Internet. I found a site devoted to patient discussion on hip resurfacing: http://health.groups.yahoo. com/group/surfacehippy. I found the doctors leading the field in hip resurfacing. I found many thrilled patients.
The rest, as they say, is history. May 17th, I had successful hip resurfacing from Dr. Michael Mont at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD. I was pain free almost immediately after surgery. Physical therapy began the next day and within 3 days I was out of the hospital, walking well with crutches and even doing stairs.
Today I have no pain, my gait is normal, my life is normal and I couldnĂât be happier. All my activities are in the process of being recovered and best of all, there is no known lifetime limitation for my all–titanium hip. IĂâm counting on it being good for life. And so, life is looking up again and the clock feels like it has been rolled back 20 years.
WhatĂâs the message here? Do your own research. The Internet has changed the medical world forever. Even if second and third opinions agree with the first, you still have to do your own research and make your own decisions. You donĂât want to find out you had other options AFTER youĂâve had a major life (and bone) changing surgery.
Finally, if you are physically active and your bone density is good but hip surgery is in your futureĂâresearch Ăâhip resurfacingĂâ and find out if you are a candidate. You could be very glad you did. I sure am.
