July 28. 2008

Hi, firstly congratulations and many thanks for the excellent website and fantastic information. It was really helpful.

I am now 3 months on from a resurfacing to my left hip using an ASR device. The orthopedic surgeon was Dr Sittiporn from Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok Thailand. He tells me I am hip resurfacing patient number 44 for him. I understand he trained at the Birmingham Clinic and I cannot recommend him highly enough.

I am 51 and have always been active completing endurance adventure races but now mainly into cycling both road and mountain biking. I have had hip pain for about 10 years and earlier this year the pain became worse, my movement was restricted and I developed a noticeable limp. I was putting most of my weight on my right leg and there was a lack of power in the joint. There is a history of hip problems in my family with my mother and 3 of her brothers having hip replacements.

Dr Sittiporn advised a hip resurfacing procedure. I asked him that I wanted to be pain free, improve my mobility and continue with my exercise program which is 3 rides (150 km) and 3 swims (6 km) per week.

The operation went very well and the care at Bumrungrad was excellent. I was in hospital for a week and then on crutches and physio.

Initially I tried to do far too much and pushed the rehab to far too fast despite the good Doctor's advice. This resulted in pain, frustration and lack of progress. I found by listening to my body and taking the Dr's advice I progressed really well. I kept up the crutches for a week or two longer to get better support and did all the rehab exercises.

Now at 3 months I can walk in the hills for 3-4 hours, am pain free and no more limp. I have gained more flexibility and power and am back riding with the peleton in Bangkok albeit around 30-50 kms at a time without any problem. I am conscious of not falling off as that could pose a problem. Swimming has progressed really well and I can now do without the float between the legs. It has been a very positive experience for me and would certainly recommend the procedure, the doctor and the hospital.

Best of luck Ray