| Kathy Blundon - LBHR 6/05/07, Dr. Robert Barrack (St. Louis) |
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 I was 47 when I had my hip resurfaced in June 2007. Before resurfacing came along, I had been told by an orthopedic surgeon that I would be a candidate for replacement "someday." I had decided to hold out as long as I could for something else to come along, knowing that replacements would last only 20 years, and longevity runs on both sides of my family. I also knew that there were amazing medical advancements coming along faster and faster.I had a minor sports injury to my left hip back in high school, probably resulting in some mild cartilage damage. But, the normal wear and tear caused the cartilage to wear down much faster, and starting in 2001 I started having a lot of trouble. I had developed a pretty good limp due to decreasing loss of mobility in that hip joint. Then, luckily in the spring of 2006 I saw a story on my local news about this "new alternative" to hip replacement — resurfacing. I am so pleased with my results! I would make the decision again, and (God forbid) if I were to need the surgery on my other hip, and I would have it.done. This procedure truly gives you back your life. I think that "wait until you can stand it no more" is kind of "old school thinking" when it comes to this procedure. And, interestingly, after I had scheduled my surgery, it seemed my hip declined even faster as I neared my surgery date. I got to the point where I couldn't wait for the surgery! With regards to pain, I believe we must surely build up a pretty good tolerance to it with the daily living with arthritis! It is only now on the "other side" that I truly am aware of how much pain I was in and how much I worked at accommodating my painful hip. After a couple of weeks, my lower back and knee pain (left) started disappearing, and at about 3 months I could sleep "normally." I no longer have to get up right away because of back pain. I can now stay all cuddled up under the covers and feel comfortable. I have also found that when I go shopping, I subconsciously keep waiting for the lower back pain to start, but it doesn't! These are the only drawbacks to resurfacing I have found so far: being able to sleep in, housework no longer hurts, I can stand in place for a loooong time, mowing the lawn doesn't hurt. Now I can no longer give excuses for not getting things done around the house. Following surgery, I had NO pain in the joint and NO pain from my incision. In fact, my incision was rather numb (and still is). The only "pain" I had was from the dressing changes! (The hospital sent me home with these big, super sticky bandages that were tough to remove — and THAT hurt!) Walking around on the newly operated hip was not painful for me. It just felt kind of odd — a bit swollen and stiff, but already so much better than before my surgery. I did so well, in fact, that I quit taking pain killers a few days after returning home. I just took aspirin and did great. In fact, I took less aspirin than before surgery, which I was taking quite a bit of beforehand. (My results are not typical. I know that most people do experience post-op pain for a couple of weeks following surgery, for which they need to take painkillers.)You do have to be patient: recovery takes time, it will take longer to do things the first couple of weeks (e.g. getting cleaned up and dressed in the morning). Be aware that some days you might experience "buyer's remorse, wondering what in the world you have gotten yourself into, wondering if you will get past the post-surgery phase. You must learn to trust that it does all get better. Resurfacing is AWESOME! It truly gives you back your life, restoring you to a pain-free and highly mobile lifestyle. Don't suffer if you don't have to. Resurfacing will put an end to you progressively getting worse and, instead, cause you to get better and better! Few people in this world have the option to regain their former life! |
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