Surface Hippy Blogs - Dr. Gross Hippies

Hip Hip Hooray!

nospam@example.com (city2south) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:58:31 -0700

My story starts out like many others: 38 yr old diagnosed with OA in left hip. 1st Ortho. did 2 cortisone shots, 1st one held up for almost 1 yr, 2nd one didn't last a day. Dr. told me only alternative was THR. I went home and cried. I didn't like his answer so I started searching the net and came across Surface Hippy and Dr. Gross. I Went to another local ortho. (just to get second opinion) with my information about HR and he said go for it. I made appt. with Dr. Gross ( 3 hrs driving distance) and had surgery 2 months later on 6/23/08. That morning I was of course nervous and as the nurses were setting me up for surgery I actually thought that maybe I shouldn't go through with this, maybe my pain is not that bad, maybe I can wait a few years. Shelby, my main nurse who treated me like gold reassured me all would be fine and I would only regret postponing surgery. PT came the next morning and I walked the hallway/stairwell with crutches. By Wednesday afternoon I was discharged. I was walking with 1 crutch less then a week post-op and then a cane before 2 weeks post-op. I am now 5 weeks post-op and feel great. <u>I have not had hip pain since I woke up from surgery.</u> The incision is 4 inches and healing nicely. I had no complications, just some insomnia (blood thinner side effect) that Lunesta cured immediately and feeling itchey from the morphine. A usual day consists of trying to keep up with my 3 yr old and walking a minimum of 1 mile with cane. I have routine exercises that I do daily and plan on trying my elliptical tomorrow. My cane is more for balance then support and I am hoping to retire it very soon. One of my new gadgets I took home was a Polar care 300. It is basically a small cooler that you fill with ice and water with a hose attached to a large pad. The pad gets wrapped around leg/hip area. After plugging it in (electric outlet) water shoots from the cooler into the hose up to the pad. It feels awesome and works wonders in drecreasing the swelling. The members on this site are amazing. I've never met such a supportive group of people in my life and I am truly greatful to Pat Walters for creating this communication portal. I'll be sure to update as I go and try to add videos and pictures. Lisa L/Uncemented/Biomet/Gross/6-23-08

Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Gross - May 2008

nospam@example.com (gabulldog) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:03:11 -0700

I am a 35 year old male and was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis in my left hip at the age of 28. I was also told my right hip showed early signs of osteoarthritis. My orthopedist recommended that I immediately stop running and playing basketball. He really did not want to discuss surgery with me and told me that my goal should be to try to make it to the age of 40 before thinking about surgery. As long as I stayed away from high impact activities, the pain was somewhat bearable.

About a year ago, the pain seemed to be getting worse. Getting in and out of my truck became more difficult. Falling asleep at night started taking much longer. My orthopedist told me that it might be time to start discussing total hip replacement. I went to another orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion and he recommended total hip replacement whenever I was ready. I scheduled it for May 2008 which was about 6 months away. I was happy to know that my pain would be gone but did not have a good feeling about having total hip replacement. During this appointment, I asked the doctor about hip resurfacing. He did not think enough research had been done on hip resurfacing. I began reading everything I could find on hip resurfacing on the internet. The idea of not cutting off the head of the femur sounded great but it still made me a little nervous since it was a newer surgery.

Finally, I came across Dr. Gross’ website and the Surface Hippy website. After reading through his website and reading all of his patient stories on the Surface Hippy website, I decided to make an appointment with him. After talking with Dr. Gross and Lee Webb, I was sold. Dr. Gross spent a lot of time with me and made sure that all of my questions were answered. The next week I cancelled my total hip surgery and scheduled hip resurfacing with Dr. Gross.

My experience in Columbia, SC with Dr. Gross and Lee Webb was excellent. I met with Lee Webb the day before my surgery. She answered all of my questions and made me feel at ease with everything that was going to happen the next day. The nurses and staff at Providence Hospital made me feel comfortable with every part of the process.

Day of operation (May 14, 2008) – Arrived at the hospital at about 7:15. I was taken back to pre-op around 7:45. I spent quite a while in pre-op. I was the second surgery of the day. I was told the first surgery started much later than it was supposed to. I was wheeled into surgery at about 11:45. The last thing I remember is leaning up for the spinal anesthesia. The physical therapist dropped by to talk to me about 5:00. He decided that he would wait until the next day to get me moving. He did this because my dexascan showed that I had low bone density (t score of -1.6). Lee Webb had already talked to me about this. I would be 10% weight bearing (crutches) for 6 weeks and then a cane for 4 weeks. The nurses were very nice and always let me know what they were doing. They checked on me every hour so that made for a very long night.

1st day post op – The nurse took out my catheter at about 6 this morning. This was a little uncomfortable but it was out in about 3 seconds. The physical therapist came by at about 9:00 am. He took me through the exercises. We walked down the hall on crutches and practiced walking up steps. The occupational therapist came by soon after and showed me how to use the sock aid and how to use the reacher to put on my shorts. She also talked to me about the hip precautions. I was released from the hospital about 2:00. Just to be on the safe side, I decided to stay one more night in the hotel across the street from the hospital.

2nd day post op – I didn’t sleep very well last night. I had to wake up my wife about 3 times to help me make it to the bathroom. After eating breakfast and taking a walk down the hall in the hotel, I got a little lightheaded. I got back in bed and took a little nap before we left for home. The ride home was very uncomfortable. Dr. Gross said I could make it back without stopping but we decided to stop once so I could take a short walk. Sitting in a chair is not very comfortable yet. Getting in and out of bed has been pretty tough.

3rd day post op – I slept a little bit better last night. I’m still waking up several times during the night. I've been sleeping on my back with a pillow between my legs.

4th day post op – I slept much better last night. I am a lot more comfortable sitting than I was yesterday. I had a little bit of pain this morning after doing my exercises.

8th day post op – I haven’t taken a pain pill in two days. I drove today for the first time. Getting in and out of the car wasn’t that bad. I still can’t sit for a long time without having to get up and move around. I've been taking several walks each day but since I'm on crutches the walks aren't that long.

4 weeks post op – I really haven’t had any pain in about 2 weeks. I still haven’t taken a pain pill since the 6th day post-op. My leg gets to be pretty swollen throughout the day. I emailed Lee Webb and she said this is normal and that I should continue applying ice and elevating the leg. I go back to see Dr. Gross in two weeks. I'm supposed to use a cane for 4 weeks after my appointment.

My New Biomet Hip from Dr. Gross (and Lee) - 10 Days Post OP!

nospam@example.com (encore10) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:10:48 -0700

My story actually begins where it ends. The bottom line is that I was born with an abnormality in both of my femoral heads which caused rapid and early wear and tear to the cartilage in my hip sockets. I am a 44 year old male who has over done things a bit, to say the least, regarding my physical activity through the years. So I would have to add that my obsession with squatting heavy weights, running off road, and pushing myself to the limits in other activities through these years gave my predisposed condition a good opportunity for early success. I first became aware of my hip problems in 2001 while still in the Army and and pushing myself had become a lifestyle when I managed to tear cartilage in my right hip while stretching out for a routine 8 mile run which caused a great deal of pain along with a "clunk" with each step. I ended up at Dr. Thomas Byrds clinic in Nashville, TN. This top notch and best in the business physician scoped the hip and removed the torn cartilage. Since Dr. Byrd performed this particular procedure on me he has incorporated another step in the process which also removes the malformation on the femoral head that causes these labrel tears in hip joints. From that point around 2002 until my meeting Dr. Gross earlier this month I have been in much pain. I suffered a serious decrease in my physical activities as well as other normal functions regarding my lifestyle, gained 20 pounds, and have been in "angry mode" ever since. I had lost the capability to vent stress and "clean my mind" so to speak through running and other fast pace physical activities. I couldn't even run to the front door if the house was on fire at that point and I eventually started to walk with a severe limp about two years ago. I could not even get out of a car seat without hesitation and pain. I begin to spend hours researching the prospect of having my hip resurfaced instead of undergoing a total hip replacement about two months ago, after my mother of all people, read in an article that there was an alternitive to THR. It didn't take me long to seek out Dr. Gross because of his successful track record and his deep commitment in researching, developing, and fine-tuning this procedure. He even has gone so far as to develop his own design in a bearing device made by Biomet. Very impressive. Dr. Gross and his assistant Lee are also very impressive. Both as well as the rest of the staff are unable to hide their enthusiasm and passion for what they are doing there in Columbia, SC. Today, I am exactly 10 days post op and am able to walk easily with the assistance of a cane. I am doing my PT exercises every day, walking further every morning, and am having a hard time staying off of my eliptical trainer and not doing other exercises that I probably shouldn't do becasue I DON'T HAVE ANY PAIN IN MY HIP ANY LONGER! The only pain I have is in and around my incision and the swelling and bruising started subsiding on day 5 and 6. The short of it all is that I cannot wait to get through the first 6 weeks and gradually get back to activities on a moderate level and start building towards a better frame of mind and a healthier body again. I look forward to adding to this blog in a month or so in order provide better news of progress. I am thanking God every day I didn't choose to have the thing totally replaced! Thank you Dr. Gross for what I expect to be a life changing experience... (and thanks Mom!)

Deb Pendleton Hip Story

nospam@example.com (Deb Pendleton) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 08:19:55 -0700

I started having flashes of leg pain about 5 years ago. Just a stab here and there depending on how I stood, bent or my level of activity. Mostly, in my crotch area and "upper leg". I mentioned this to my doctors as the years went by and the reply was always something like "you are getting to that "age" in your life when "these things "happen. in other words it fell on deaf ears. As the years went on, the pain slowly got worse. Finally in June of this year I sent myself to a bone specialist because the pain had just gotten out of hand. I couldn't walk any distance without doubling over in pain. Upon x-ray, it was found my hip was bone on bone. I was 52 years old .This may sound weird, but after the initial horror of seeing my bones hanging there with no cartilage, I felt relief that at last I could see what was causing all this pain.. It never occurred to me that it was a hip problem. All these years it had just been dismissed as "Old Age". I do not consider myself old today and I certainly didn't consider myself old 6 years ago.

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