From Anterior Hip Replacement Back To Triathlon: Surgery

Friday, March 2, 2012

Surgery

Recgonized the chair to needed wait in, pre-op by dr davidovitch's Star Wars Jedi Night. Surgery delayed by several hours but finally got walk into the operating room at about 3:00. 'Enjoyed' listening to the sounds of the surgical team counting out their knives; fortunately I had already taken out my contact lenses so could actually see them. After the IV was put in my hand I was out immediately. I have vague memories of waking up in the recovery room, talking with chris, and Dr Davidovitch coming in to say that it all went well. There are even vaguer memories of being much later to my shared room.
The first night was very long, with very little sleep. I was happy and comfortable thanks to the morphine I put in with a push of my thumb every 6minutes.

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Osteoarthritis and My Path To Anterior Hip Replacement

A doctor first mentioned arthritis over 10 years ago as the why reason my hip ached sometimes. It didn’t seem to be anything important so I pretty much forgot about it. But by three years ago I limped, couldn’t walk far, couldn’t jump, would get a sudden excruciating pain in the joint, would fear it collapsing under me on stairs (which it occasionally did), struggled to get up from sitting on the floor, and couldn't run so much as across a street. I finally went back to the doctor and was told my hip would need to be replaced. No other alternative procedure or route possible. I researched (resurfacing, physical therapies, partial replacement). I also met with several doctors for second opinions, and the best prognosis I found was "you will have to replace it but you don’t need to do it until you can't take it any more". This was from Hospital For Special Surgery in New York. So I continued with life as normal, and looked for alternatives to running to keep me in shape and exercising/competing outside. I discovered that the more I swam and biked the less pain there was, as well as less limping, aching, and sudden collapses. This kept me going for another 2 years, to compete in open water swim races, indoor bike events, and a triathlon with a friend doing my run for me. By last autumn the swimming and biking were still working ...but not as well ... and by now I was taking painkillers every night in order to sleep... so I began researching again. This time it was not about whether I needed to have a full hip-replacement surgery, but what kind would be the best for me.

In most areas of my life I don’t feel that young but in the world of hip replacement I am. I expect the joint to last me a long time, I expect to do a lot with it, I expect to recover quickly, and I'd also like a small scar. For traditional hip replacement the incision is usually 10-12inches and the recovery several months after a minimum 5 day hospital stay. The restrictions on the patient afterwards can be extensive with many lasting forever. With minimally invasive hip replacement incisions are usually 3-6 inches, hospital stays 2 days, and recovery much faster with few or no restrictions. There are also several types of minimally invasive hip replacement methods - two incision or single incision. As I researched further I also discovered the Anterior Approach. With this approach, as no muscles or tendons are violated, there is an easier and faster recovery, a lower risk of dislocation, and NO restrictions after the surgery. This is the surgical approach for me.

About Me

Friday, March 2, 2012

Surgery

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