Tennis Player resurfacing w/ Dr. Gross

[obxpelican]

Aerial,

Soon I'll be needing my left hip done, I am going to call on you to find some other neat places around Columbia.  We enjoyed Columbia (at least I got to enjoy pre-op) --- my wife and daughter were like shopping fiends.


Chuck

[tennisgirl]

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations...will probably try one of them.

I'm guessing this is normal, but in the last three days I've had a couple of very sad moments that come out of the blue and I cry...happened on the tennis court yesterday in front of my friends.  I think I was sad because I won't be able to play for some time, or am I mourning the loss of my natural hip????

Most of the time I am upbeat and happy and am looking forward to getting rid of the pain...next week will be my time.

Mindi

[Anniee]

Hi Mindi,

It's probably just nerves, which is completely normal before major surgery.  I can honestly say that I have never for one second mourned to loss of my "natural" hip joints!  First of all, because my resurfaced hips feel just as natural as my unresurfaced hips did, and second of all, because they do not hurt anymore!  I really cannot tell that I have metal implants in my hips.  Also, I think resurfaced hips are still a lot more natural than hips that have undergone THR.


The first 6 weeks of recovery have been the most difficult part of the process for me, because I am used to being very active.  It can be depressing to be more or less stuck in the house, doing nothing much except the twice daily PT exercises and the daily walking sessions.  However, THAT IS TEMPORARY and when I get down, I remind myself of that fact.  After the first 6 weeks, things get much better.

Also, remember that there are many, many people on this site that have been through this surgery, who are ready to support you all the way!

[tennisgirl]

Thank you Anniee, for the reply.  Just pre-op jitters, like you say.  Getting my house in order for the big op next week.  Just finished taking down Halloween decorations and will probably clean like mad for the next few days...and try to get in a few more tennis matches too. 

[hernanu]

Hey Mindi, it's normal to be nervous, get down, etc. You're going through a lot, even though it's going to get rid of the pain in your hips. All of us have gone though emotional ups and downs before and after.

Like Annie said, remember that all of this is constructive and will get you back on your feet pain free. Feel what you feel,but also get psyched up about what is coming. Good things are coming.

[imgetinold]

Mindi,

I'm scheduled with Dr. Gross in January, and I still find myself second guessing what I should do since I have periods of little or no pain.  In those instances, I just push myself fairly hard and I am reminded by my hip why I'm doing it.  For me, it is not a question of "if", but "when".  I'd rather get it done and get back to tennis (which I haven't played in a year because of the hip) than keep on doing almost nothing.

Good luck!

Andy

[tennisgirl]

Thanks Andy, you are right!   I finished my tennis season with a bang today, as my team won the City Championships today for our local league.  I am glad I waited until next week to schedule my surgery, as I've played the best tennis of my life this past summer and fall...kinda ironic, isn't it?

Will try to keep everyone posted on how I do if I'm not too messed up on drugs...I know I don't do well with painkillers and it worries me some.  They make me sick and loopy.

Counting down the days....

Mindi

[curt]

Don't worry about the pain killers...should be able to dump the exotic ones in just and handful of days.  The loss of the "big pain" makes the surgical pain seem less significant (I hope!).  Best of luck and stay positive!  Curt

[imgetinold]

Congrats, Mindi, on the city championships.  You must be in or around Atlanta....ALTA I assume.  Last fall we made it to the city semifinals and lost in a tiebreaker.

Keep us posted!

Andy

[tennisgirl]

Hi Andy,

Yup, I play in ALTA and USTA...teams that I played on this summer and fall won two ALTA City Championships and two USTA championships.  I qualified to play in two state tourney's next May, but really don't know if I'll be able to get clearance to play...I may be a little obsessed with tennis, but it sure gives me a goal to rehab.

Staying positive!

Mindi

[Anniee]

Hi Mindy,

Don't worry about the pain killers.  As Curt says, you should be able to stop the strong ones after the first few days.  If they make you sick, there are many different kinds they can give you, and I'm sure they can find something that works without making you sick.  Anything with codeine has that effect on me, but the ones that Dr. Gross uses did not.  They do make me a little loopy, but I didn't mind that too much just for a few days. :)

[curt]

I wish I could blame the drugs on being loopy!   :o  Curt

[23109VC]

I was really scared about my resurfacing with Dr Gross... But now that I'm 8 months post op... I wish I had done it sooner.  It was the best thing I ever did... To fix my hip.  I got my life back.  All that pain is gone and I feel great.

Get it fixed and seriously... Do NOT stress out... The whole process is not bad.  The most painful thing I remember was the IV and a blood draw! That was it.  I do not remember getting a spinal and I have zero memory of te surgery .  I woke up thinking.. "am i done? That's it??".

I remember sitting up totally straight in my hospital bed and not feeling the old sting of my hip... Before surgery sitting totally straight in a bed or chair hurt as I couldn't really flex my hip fully... My range of motion was really bad...

Now I can run!! Fast too!! Without pain!!

Get it fixed.  Dr gross is great!!

[tennisgirl]

Yes, not too scared, just want to be a better me without the pain. Not worried about needle sticks...after having several cortisone shots into my hips I can take anything!   I'm lucky in that I've been able to remain active until my surgery date.  Sitting in a chair is what gives me the most pain (hip and back).  We're having very nice weather here this weekend, so I'm going to try and squeeze in some tennis before my surgery next week.

If any of you Gross hippies have any advice for me, let me know...

Mindi

[curt]

    I'm wishing you the best for your surgery.  You're in GREAT hands.  My advice is to make sure you get as much from your visit with Dr. Gross and Lee after the surgery as you can.  If others are with you, give them some questions to ask for you since you will be an Oxycontin dope fiend!  I wish I had asked more about what he saw as far as the condition of my hip - both bone and soft tissue; whether it was easier or harder to do than others; his analysis of the positioning of the implants and anything else you can think of Pre-Op.  I was so happy that I was done with surgery, and I really spent most of my time blabbering and thanking him for taking care of me.  The blabbering is normal as you can guess.  Curt

[sdunn4]

I second what Curt says!  I just had my right hip resurfaced by Dr. Gross on Monday October 24th, and it is amazing how well things have gone so far.  The good advice Curt mentions- to pump Dr. Gross for info when he comes to see you the next morning after the surgery- is very good advice.  He handed me a copy of my intra-operative x-ray with the angle drawn on it for my acetabular component, and like Curt says, you're doped up a little so you just thank him for getting a good angle, piecing you back together, etc.  I did manage to ask him how it went, and basically it was "no problems / everything went smoothly".  I can think of half a dozen questions to ask now-
1) Did you see any evidence of damage from the 4 cortisone shots I had over the past 18 months?
2) Was there a lot of bone damage?
3) Any cartilage left at all?
4) Was my surgery easier / tougher than normal?  If so, why?
5) Was the femoral head diameter you used close to going up one size / down one size?  What may the implications be?
6) My angle of cup inclination was 32 degrees; did you try for 40 but err on the safe side?  Any implications?
You get the idea; certainly you can always ask him later, but if he's doing 10 or more surgeries per week, yours (and mine!) will be a lot less fresh in his mind later.

Good luck- I was pretty nervous but now at 12 days post-op I am going for my 1st 1-mile walk of the day (of 2; I am at 2 miles per day now), still using a cane, but enjoying the absence of OA pain and better ROM already!

Steve

[tennisgirl]

Steve and others,

Thanks for the good questions to ask Dr. Gross post-surgery...I copied them to my husband and hopfully he will ask them! (and write down the answers).

Does anyone know if there are some good bike paths/trails in Columbia?  My husband wants to exercise if he has the time during our short stay.

Three days to go....

Mindi

[hernanu]

Good luck Mindi, the best thing is the lack of OA pain afterwards. The recuperation pain is different, you can feel that it's temporary.