February 23, 2007
As I noticed today's date, I realized that 6 years
ago, I was in Baltimore getting my hip re-surfaced
by Dr. Mont. Since I rarely even think about it
anymore, other when someone mentions it to me, I
kind of lost track. I guess it works. For those of
you on this site looking for relief from your hip
problems, as I was in 2001, I certainly recommend
re-surfacing. Back then I met a few guys through
this site that were ahead of me and I was able to
contact them to discuss their experiences. It
certainly helped me make my decision to go forward
with it. When we each got our new hips, we were
encouraged to report back on all the details on this
site. I found my original report, post #1105, back
in the ancient history section. I'm sure things are
even better today, but for me, it couldn't have
worked out any better. Good luck to all of you
looking for help.
Brian Carder
Toledo, OH
C+, 2/23/01
Dr. Mont
Baltimore on Feb 23, 2001
Thanks, it went very well, I think. Here is a brief
recap of my conserve + surgery on 2/23, and the days
since. My wife and I drove to Balt on Wed and stayed
in a very nice B&B (Grammercy). Thurs went to the
MDA day (was the only guy so I had the class to
myself. Friday was scheduled for surgery at 1, be at
hospital at 10. Happened to go to my car after
breakfast around 8 and found my cell voice mail
ringing. Dr. Mont's office called Wed afternoon and
wanted to move me up to 10, be at hospital by 7.
Since I didn't get message until 8am I was
panicking. Called hospital and they said to get in
asap. We did and they got me ready for 10:30.
Changed into my gown and ted's (stockings) and
waited around on a bed. Had to sign a bunch of forms
(in kind of a hurry), talked to anesthesia
(spelling?) and things started moving pretty
quickly. Pushed into OR and next thing I know it was
over. I had a general anesthesia so I was completely
out. Woke up, it seemed like one second after they
said we were ready to go, and a nurse was telling me
that everything went fine and I was doing great. I
was in 0 pain, on my back with a big foam "wedgie"
pillow between my legs. My wife was brought in and I
was kind of just floating. They told me it took over
four hours mainly because of the size of my legs. (I
have tree trunks for legs.) I guess I was put back
in a private room and realized how I was hooked up.
I had a cath, an IV in my hand, a drain and pump
from the hip, and a push button morphine drip that I
could work every 6 minutes. I was not in pain much
so I tried not to use the pump. Mostly I was
terribly thirsty. They brought a full dinner but did
not eat much. My back hurt just from being in one
position for so long. Seemed like the longest night
of my life, kept going in and out of sleep. In the
morning a doctor checked on me, a nurse pulled the
cath and within a couple of hours they had me up on
a walker. They had me walk to the bathroom and back
and then put me back in bed. Met Dr. Mont and had a
nice long talk. Said everything went well and he
kidded me about how hard I was to do because of my
size. My bones are in excellent health, very large
and dense. There was a lot of arthritis in the
joint. That 1st afternoon, I was again up and in a
recliner chair, and pushed down to the "Preakness
Room," where the PT's get everyone together for
exercise. Second night I slept a little better, day
2 was again spend in my chair, two visits to the
Preakness for PT. I could get out of bed by myself
by this time. During my second PT, they had me up on
crutches and walking the hall. Also did a flight of
stairs. The second night I put myself to bed around
11 and was able to sleep reasonably well. Day three
(Sunday) I was up by myself, got myself cleaned up
and dressed, and was ready to go. Went to morning PT
to practice my stairs. Got discharged in the morning
around 10:30 and after a little red tape my wife and
I got in the car at noon. I was able to get in the
front seat of my Durango ok with a little help and
we headed for the highway. All in all, It went very
well. I am now day 6, sitting in my living room sort
of back to work (phones, etc.) My wife Debbie has
done an incredible job as a nurse. My biggest
problems are my wound still seeps quite a bit so we
have to change the dressing twice a day. Also, my
right leg did swell quite a bit. Very little pain in
my hip. My biggest complaint was when I got ready
to go on Monday I asked a nurse if I needed the
stockings and she said no, so I took them off. I
never wore them until about the third day home and
my leg was swollen. When I called Jennifer at Dr.
Mont's office, she was quite upset that the
discharge nurse did not tell me that I needed to
wear the TED's for six weeks. I have since got them
back on and the swelling is going down. I have my
1st home PT session this afternoon. Thanks to all
those that emailed and called. I hope everyone else
is as lucky as me. Please ask any questions. I would
enjoy responding.
Brian Carder
Toledo, Ohio
