Question about Dr. Brooks and his team

Leela3325 · November 18, 2014, 06:12:57 PM

Hello I am a new member here. I have been having strange tearing pain in my left hip for about a year. I went to my GP thinking I pulled something. Hope that she would give me something for it and I would go on my way. So off for x-rays and then an Mir. The radiologist who read them seem to think I had an impingement with a labrum tear. Made an appointment to see a ortho doctor to see what he could do for me. I am sure you all know what is coming...yes small tear, yes some impingement...but really the problem is the osteoarthritis. He says he can give me a shot, it may or may not help, do some PT but somewhere down the road I will need hip replacement. I asked him if there was anything else I could do and he pretty much said no. Being the good patient that I am I made another appointment with another surgeon, he tells me pretty much the same thing except I have it in both hips.
I am not a person who just sit around waiting for things to happen so of course I went directly to the internet to see if there is anything else I can do. What do I find?...this wonderful web site. So to make a long story a little less long in August I call Dr. Brooks office to make an appointment. I am told that if I want to see him personally I will have to wait till February but if I am willing to see his assistance Phil they can get me in December 4th. Of course I took the appointment. I just can not stand the pain much longer. So my question is has this happened to anyone else and should I be concerned that I am not seeing the doctor himself?? Thank you all in advance.

shabbis · November 19, 2014, 11:36:10 AM

Dr Brooks does free email consultation (brooksp@ccf.org). Have you tried emailing him directly with your questions and x-rays?

When I was looking for a surgeon, I emailed Dr Pritchett and he replied the same day with a diagnosis. And since then both Dr Pritchett and his assistant Susan have been very responsive via email to all the questions I've had. I also had one appointment with him in person about a month ago before deciding to have the procedure done.

You should take the December 4th appointment as I guarantee the assistant is qualified to make an initial diagnosis. And will obviously pass on their notes to Dr Brooks for review. I wouldn't worry about rushing into the procedure, it's not like the osteoarthritis will get that much worse over the course of a couple months. My x-rays from 2 years apart showed no additional degradation of the joint, which was good news. And I am pretty hard on my hip joints. I still run, road and mtn bike, surf, ski and hike, although all at a limited capacity.

I was in the exact same situation with the surgeon I met with initially down here in Portland: "You need a THR and just go as long as you can before getting it done." That wasn't good enough for me either.

It has taken me almost two years since initial diagnosis to try everything else I could to avoid surgery, like PT, a hip traction device, acupuncture, chiropractic, lots and lots of Aleve. But now the pain is just too constant and I don't want to miss the window for a resurfacing. Oh, and don't get the cortisone shot (assuming that's what they want to give you), it didn't help me at all, and it is bad for the joint.

fenceman · November 19, 2014, 11:38:11 AM

Hello Leela,
This is common with Dr. Brooks because he is so busy. He has trained his medical assistant, Phil Golnick, to handle most of the follow up visits and initial consultations. He is available, but if you want to see him initially you have to wait. If you go forward with the procedure you will get to meet him sometime before surgery.

He replaced my left 6 years ago and my right 2 years ago the week before Christmas. I was very happy with Dr. Brooks and the staff. He does most of his procedures at Euclid Hospital at Cleveland Clinc. It is less busy than the Main Campus and your receive better, personalized care. Make sure you ask for a lake view room.
Bill

dfox · November 21, 2014, 08:37:41 PM

Welcome to the site Leela,

Sorry to hear you are in so much pain, but I'm glad you have found this site and are considering hip resurfacing.

My story is very similar to yours and Dr. Brooks did an excellent job of resurfacing my right hip just over six months ago.

I also had concerns about not meeting directly with the surgeon. I can assure you though that the complete procedure by Dr. Brooks and his staff and the Cleveland Clinic was exceptionally well executed.

My initial consultation started with x-rays and then a meeting with his assistant, Phil, who was very knowledgeable and spent as much time with me as necessary to answer all my questions. I had already done a lot of research, mostly on this web site, so I knew a lot about the procedure. It was during this visit that he informed me I was a candidate for the surgery and even gave me a list of available date.

I decided to have the surgery, picked a date, and called Phil to schedule it on my way home from the appointment.

I meet Dr. Brooks the day before the surgery during my pre-op appointment. He came in to visit me once after the surgery. I think fenceman is correct. He spends most his time doing surgeries which is fine with me.

My new hip is amazing. No pain at all. Most of the time it feels as good as my original left hip.

Don't be concerned about Dr. Brooks. His successes are well documented on this site.

Take care, hope your appointment goes well.

Dave

Beth · December 09, 2014, 03:01:40 PM

I am a bit late in responding. Did you see Phil?
I had my right hip resurfaced by Dr Brooks 2/17/14.
I just called to today to see if I can see Phil to discuss the pain in my left hip which I've had off/on for a few years. I really would like to think it's bursitis or something but likely I will be scheduling surgery #2.
Ultimately Dr Brooks makes the decision re: any surgery but Phil did a good workup. I had hip arthroscopy on both hips in 2012 so we knew arthritis and hip labral tears were a given.

Leela3325 · December 10, 2014, 06:32:25 PM

Thank you all for responding to my post. Yes I did meet with Phil and was very comfortable with him and what he told me about hip resurfacing. I am now waiting for him to review my x-rays with Dr. Brooks. If I am a candidate for the surgery I am planning on having it sometime in late February. I would like to do my rehab in the spring ( so I can walk outside) since I live in Ohio and winter here can be no fun. Once again I want to thank everyone on this site for all their insight and experiences it has been so helpful!!

Pat Walter · December 10, 2014, 08:12:27 PM

Dr. Brooks is excellent and worth waiting for.

I just had hand surgery at Cleveland Clinic last Fri. Meet one of Dr. Brooks patients back for his second BHR He was very happy with his first.

Check out this new story i just posted

http://www.surfacehippy.info/hipresurfacing/stories/dr-brooks/643-john-kalnay-hip-resurfacing-dr-brooks-2009

Am slow typing with one hand. Had a bad finger fused and carpal tunnel fixed.

Good luck.

Pat