Evan’s Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Pritchett 2014 July 23, 2014 After some lurking and the recent decision to get a BHR, I have decided to step up and introduce myself. I am 46, male, married, two kids (7 and 5). I have never been a fierce competitor in any one sport, but I have always been active and in decent shape. I have scheduled a BHR for my left hip with Dr Pritchett in early September of this year (2014). It’s been confirmed now for a little over a year that I have FAI on both hips with moderate OA; a confirmed torn labrum on my left and probable on right. I have been through a bunch of physical and massage therapy and while I can now manage the pain for most daily activity, I get pretty sore after exercise and have seen a steady decline in ROM. It’s at the point now that I can barely put my sock on. I have a lot of referred pain at my knee and in my back. I pretty much only have one sleeping position available to me. I also have some family history; Tin Soldier, who posts here frequently (1k + posts!!!), is my brother. For a long time when he would describe his symptoms, I would say to myself, ‘Naw, that’s not really how I feel. The pain in my groin is different. The lack of ROM exhibits itself differently’, and so on. Obviously, I didn’t want to believe that I was on the same path he was. I had phone/email consultations with Dr. Pritchett and Dr. Gross, both of whom said I was a good candidate for BHR. I had one consultation with a surgeon who specializes in arthroscopy (Bryan Kelly in NY) and he did not recommend getting scoped. I saw, personally with follow-ups, two surgeons in Anchorage, where I live, and they both said they would never, EVER recommend MoM resurfacing because they are concerned about metallosis. One recommend getting scoped with the understanding that I would be buying time before a THR and the other said to limit my activities, take NSAIDS, and wait until I am a good candidate for a THR. But, like a lot of people in my situation, I don’t think those are good answers. A BHR looks like the ticket for me. September 5, 2014 So, I am 4 days away from surgery with Dr. Pritchett in Seattle for my left hip and getting anxious! I know it will all be for the best, but still, getting metal in your body in place of bone is a one-way street. I am so glad I have all of the success stories here, not to mention the numbers and studies, to think about to allay my fears. I am nervous but also looking forward to having the hourly distraction, fitful nights, and all of the physical restrictions behind me. I feel enormous gratitude to all those who went before me into a less certain future in order bring this method into maturity. You are the brave ones! I have my house arranged (had to put a bed frame under our mattresses to raise them up off the floor) and a bunch of heavy-lifting chores out of the way. I bought a commode off craigslist, crutches from the Salvation Army, a shoehorn, some slip-on shoes, a sock putter-onner, and a pair of compression icing shorts (Transformers from 110% Play Harder – we’ll see how they work!). My wonderful wife will be going with me while her sister watches our kids. The surgery will be on Tuesday and we’ll fly back to Anchorage on Friday unless I feel good enough earlier than that. I should still have a few snow-free weeks during my initial recovery so I am looking forward to daily walks to the nearby coffee shop and meeting my kids after school. I can log in to work from home, so hopefully I will won’t get too far behind. September 14, 2014 5 days post-op Last Monday, 9/8/14, my wife and I flew to Seattle. We sat in on a joint replacement seminar at the Swedish Orthopedic Institute and then met with Dr. Pritchett. He came in, introduced himself, and said, “Well, do you have any questions for me?” at which point it became clear to me that if I hadn’t, he might have walked right back out! But I did, so we talked for awhile and then my wife and I went out for dinner. My surgery was early the next day. For anesthesia, I got a spinal block so the knockout drugs were not terribly strong. I woke up in the recovery room fairly lucid. I was numb from the waist down until the late afternoon or so and on oxycodone so I was not in much pain. I was able to enjoy visiting with my wife, brother, and a couple cousins. Dr. Pritchett came to visit and explained that everything went well and that they installed a 50 mm BHR. A physical therapist came in the mid-afternoon and I crutched around the nurses’ station. After that I also got up two or three times on my own to go the bathroom. I slept well that night. The next day, Wednesday, I had an occupational therapy session. They want to make sure you can negotiate getting in and out of a shower, a mock-up of car, and some steps, with which I had no problem. Before being discharged I also had two more PT sessions where I crutched around and did the 2 week in-home exercises (holy cow, did I hate the abductions!!). The care at Swedish was always excellent. Upon being discharged, we took a shuttle from the Swedish First Hill campus, to the Swedish Cherry Hill campus about 6 blocks away and checked in to the Inn at Cherry Hill, which is a floor of old hospital rooms that have been converted to lodging. It is not quaint and it is not cheery but it is cheap and convenient. Also, the bathrooms have bars all over the place, so it’s a good place for hippys to convalesce. I put on my compression shorts with ice packs which felt great. The best thing about these is that you can be icing as you move around. Very nice. By Thursday afternoon, now 2 days post-op, we realized that I was pretty constipated, probably because of the oxycodone, and I was getting very nauseated. That night I stopped taking the oxycodone and switched to acetaminophen. This was the start of the worst time of my recovery so far. Over the next 2 1/2 days, during which time we also flew home to Anchorage, I went through epic gastric distress, from the initial constipation clear to the other end of the spectrum with diarrhea. As I write this on Sunday evening, I am finally starting to feel like myself again. I am using just one crutch to get around the house, but need two for walking any distance outside. My left leg is, at least functionally, longer. But I am not going to worry about that until all swelling has gone down and my pelvis has had a chance to reorient. Sounds like a lot of people notice a length difference immediately after the surgery that goes away over time. I am still spending a lot of time in bed. There is no seat which is comfortable to sit on for more than a few minutes and standing up gets tiring as well. The most difficult motion for me at this point is swinging my legs up and into bed. Otherwise, throughout the day, the pain is a 1 or 2 out of 10 and seems to be moving from sharp pains around the wound site to deeper aching and throbbing. I still haven’t had a moment yet when I realized that the motion of my hip is easier or less painful than it was before, but I trust that will come soon. Thanks to everyone who has posted their experiences and comments! I enjoy reading them.