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May 11, 2010
I am now over 2 years post-op on the right hip (resurfacing/uncemented)surgery
from Dr. Gross (my hero), and life is grand!
NO MORE 20+ years of PAIN
NO MORE post-op CLUNKING sensation
FLEXIBILITY is like night and day (I have even been doing Yoga)
I have been living and loving life with my new strong hip!! Absolutely no
complaints whatsoever!
I have been doing the P90x program (for over 1 year now) starting one year
post-op....."I am strong as bull...now" heh-heh! My hip flexors / glutes / thigh
muscles have all come back to life even after 20+ years of damage / deteriotion
/ almost naturally fused bone / with no flexability prior to this surgery. Its
absolutely amazing how your body can continue to get strong again after so much
damage.
Thank you ALL for helping during that my pre-op / post-op time .... LIFE DOES
get better with resurfacing!!! WOO-HOO!
[hugs to all]
Karen
RH Biomet / uncemented Dr. Gross (SC) 04/02/2008
The Long Journey
Around the age of 14 1/2 I was outside in our neighborhood playing some ball
game and felt a "twinge" in my right thigh area. I didn't give it must notice
since I was always doing some kind of muscle pull.
Two and a half months go by until I can't walk on it anymore and mom takes me
to the general doctor where I get x-rays and find out I have a slipped epiphysis
and need surgery.
They admit me and put me in traction for 2 weeks in the hospital first to see
if it will correct the problem. It doesn't so off to surgery for 4 pins screwed
into my right hip.
About a year and a half goes by and I noticed my foot was turned out on that
leg. We went to see my surgeon and he said I can remove the pins now and put a
shim in to make your leg so straight by shimming it, at the mid-thigh outside
area.
So I went in for the surgery had the 4 pins removed and was given an
osteotomy and the tin-like shim with a large pin that went into the femur head.
I came out of that surgery with a low grade fever.
As time went on I started to get a hard mass in my hamstring which later
burst...I learned later that I had two "staff" infections from that surgery and
the shim and was walking around with it for a good 8 months or so.
Grin and Bear It
Off to surgery again to remove the shim part and clean out my leg. I was in
the hospital on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks of my life; it was a depressing time
as I missed my high school graduation.
My surgeon told me that some day I will need a total hip replacement (THR)
when I get older. But maybe by then they will have something new out.
For now, I just need to grin and bear it and try to preserve the hip as long
as I can. I was only around 18 years old when he told me this. So, I went on
with life completely ignoring the leg...I had no patience for any complaints
from my leg if I over did it.
It got worse and worse, my pelvis started to tilt, the bone on bone was
making a awful grinding noise, and if anyone bumped my knee and made my leg go
to the side (when I was sitting), I would go through the roof with pain.
I started wearing a lift inside my shoe that really embarrassed me. If I had
to take my shoes off in someone's house, I would hide the lift or my shoe.
The pain was becoming unbearable when I hit my forties. Having a high pain
tolerance, I was taking Ibuprofen types of pills only if I was walking around in
pain like a caged animal. My limp was really bad now, and I couldn't reach my
foot anymore
Had Enough?
In 2007 I went to a local orthopedic surgeon, where he told me about hip
resurfacing and Dr. Gross in South Carolina. What's hip resurfacing, I
asked...well I did some web surfing and found the surfacehippy.info web
page...WOW! Finally something that might work for me (only being 43 yrs old).
After some insurance bologna, I finally had surgery with Dr. Gross in SC on
April 2, 2008 at the age of 44.
Life is Great
I finally can have an active life and do whatever I want. What a great thing!
I'm so glad I found out about hip resurfacing.
Oh...and "yes" I can reach my feet now and more...
Hip Before Surgery
Hip Before Surgery
After Hip Resurfacing
After Hip Resurfacing
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