Help about tape on the incision!

[livendive]

Glad to hear it Shabbis, that's good (and bad) news!  My two month checkup with Dr Pritchett will be in the OR, as he did my right hip on January 5th and is doing my left on March 2nd.  ;D  Still, your experience encourages me that I should totally ready for biking by the time the weather warms up enough for it and maybe even be ready for a sprint-distance triathlon by fall if my hips are up to a 10k run by then.

[KevinHalicki]

Hello

close to making a final decision and looking to see if anyone has had a recent experience on Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Bose in Chennai India?

Thanks

[karlos.bell]

Hi David. Bugger to have come across FAI so early on.
I had FAI and has not helped my hips at all really same as you except a bit later on in life. I was 40. This has damaged the right socket quite bad so I could not walk or flex my legs. I was on crutches for 6 years and no answers so I hope you are not having to do this. Pretty much 7 years of my life is gone so I am glad someone has helped you see what the issue is.
Unfortunately early on in life.
For example my knees compensate now for the alteration of FAI and they hammer the shit out of them.  I have also found out they do not know enough about FAI and how it changes the structure you were born with. Lots of unanswered questions about it.
Ok so I have spent a fair bit of money and no real decent result. I have an op booked with DR De Smet Belgium to change my right hip (resurface) as it is the worst all be at my cost 30K. It is half worn and I cannot get any offer in NZ to change it with a BHR.
There is only 1 surgeon that advisable in NZ.

This is what I wanted to point out emailing Dr De Smet  I have asked "how long will these things last?" and a reply I get from him is it could be a life time "if installed correctly".
I am going to run with that "excuse the pun" but times up and the change needs to happen.

Reading through the info same things find a good bloke that's done a lot and someone that is willing to help you out. Don't leave it too long other things will compensate regardless of what surgeons say that is my experience. All the best and others as well who read this post.
Cheers Karlos.

[chuckm]

My guess is that there are so many great surgeons in just about every region now that there is no reason to travel to India for resurfacing unless you live there or are just interested in surgical tourism.

Chuckm

[maquino20]

Hi everyone,

This website has been so helpful , the least I can do is share my experience here as well.

I'm now on day 4 of hip resurfacing with Dr. De Smet in Belgium.

Dr. De Smet is a really nice guy, caring and attentive to his patients, and I must say his team of doctors/PT/nurse exceeded my expectations.

I am however a little disappointed with my own recovery. I'm 32 years old and from what I read about other people's experiences with Dr. De Smet, I thought I would be much better by now. I've read posts about people saying they didn't take any painkillers after surgery, and had no muscle pain at all.

I'm reasonably fit, although in the last few years my activity level have decreased a lot due to the hip pain, but I have always played sports my whole life and have no other health problems at all.


My experience has been different for sure, I have been taking a fair amount of painkillers to be able to deal with discomfort and muscle pain on the hip. I've also had fever since the operation day, which got better but still is comes back sometimes. I'm having trouble sleeping, especially since I got to the hotel, it might have something to do with the bed, anyways it causes discomfort and makes it harder to fall asleep. Lastly, my heart rate has been constantly at 95-125, even if I'm laying in bed resting. So, in sum, it hasn't been a total pleasure, and I truly believe this may be a particular difficulty I'm having since I've read so many reviews telling exactly the opposite about the recovery.

Nonetheless the staff here in Belgium have been very attentive to all these issues, and have assured me that all of this is normal, so I try not to worry too much.




 

[maquino20]

Hi everyone,

This website has been so helpful , the least I can do is share my experience here as well.

I'm now on day 4 of hip resurfacing with Dr. De Smet in Belgium.

Dr. De Smet is a really nice guy, caring and attentive to his patients, and I must say his team of doctors/PT/nurse exceeded my expectations.

I am however a little disappointed with my own recovery. I'm 32 years old and from what I read about other people's experiences with Dr. De Smet, I thought I would be much better by now. I've read posts about people saying they didn't take any painkillers after surgery, and had no muscle pain at all.

I'm reasonably fit, although in the last few years my activity level have decreased a lot due to the hip pain, but I have always played sports my whole life and have no other health problems at all.


My experience has been different for sure, I have been taking a fair amount of painkillers to be able to deal with discomfort and muscle pain on the hip. I've also had fever since the operation day, which got better but still is comes back sometimes. I'm having trouble sleeping, especially since I got to the hotel, it might have something to do with the bed, anyways it causes discomfort and makes it harder to fall asleep. Lastly, my heart rate has been constantly at 95-125, even if I'm laying in bed resting. So, in sum, it hasn't been a total pleasure, and I truly believe this may be a particular difficulty I'm having since I've read so many reviews telling exactly the opposite about the recovery.

Nonetheless the staff here in Belgium have been very attentive to all these issues, and have assured me that all of this is normal, so I try not to worry too much.

[oldsoccerplayer]

Hi Maquino,
Welcome to the Hippie club!
While it's true a lot of people on the site report recoveries that seem easier than yours, you'll also see many, many posts that say we all recover differently, and that it is not a competition.
Four days post-op is still very early in the recovery process and too soon to reach conclusions about how long or hard it will be. For the next couple of weeks at least, do whatever it takes to make yourself comfortable, if you have to take painkillers that's OK.
It's also common to get anxious about anything that doesn't feel right, and maybe anxiety is contributing to your higher heart rate.  It's encouraging that Dr. De Smet's team is telling you everything is normal, so focus on  that rather than what you might be feeling. For now take it one day at a time, you should find things improve at first slowly and then more quickly as time goes on.
You can always use this site for advice and reassurance.

[chuckm]

Hi Maquino, hang in there. You are wrong. It sucks for EVERYONE the first couple of weeks.

Chuckm

[KevinHalicki]

I am from Vancouver Canada and considering travelling to India to see Dr. Bose. Does anyone, especially from Canada have any feedback?

[Pat Walter]

Hi

I know a lot of people that used Dr. Bose, especially in years past.  Many athletes used him and still do.  I think there are not as many people flying to India because we finally have surgeons in the US that have done a few thousand.

I never remember heaing a story about anyone having problems with him.

Here are patient stories

http://surfacehippy.info/hipresurfacing/stories/dr-bose

Pat

[maquino20]

Thanks Chuckm. I underestimated the recovery process for sure, but I can see some progress everyday which is comforting.

[maquino20]

Thanks oldsoccerplayer, I guess everyone recovers differently and thats fine. I underestimated the recovery process for sure, but hopefully I will keep on getting a little better everyday.

[Daytona Dave]

Early days my friend.
Use the pain killers and try not to worry.
I did find it a struggle to sleep for the first couple of weeks and found that playing music on my ipod at  a very low volume helped me relax. I found I could cat nap in the day if I needed to catch up. Its not like I had work to worry about if I could not sleep at night.
I also kept a daily diary and this helped to measure my progress whether it be in days or weeks.

Good luck.
Dave

[einreb]

Hi Maquino, hang in there. You are wrong. It sucks for EVERYONE the first couple of weeks.

Chuckm

yeah... my recovery was pretty smooth, but I think its incredibly rare for folks to dump the painkillers immediately after surgery.  I think I was on the Oxycontin for three days and Norco/Vicodin for a week (at least).  I was a big believer in ice (I had a machine that circulated cold water to a pad from an ice cooler) and have seen enough anecdotal references to that to suspect its a great help in dealing the recovery/pain/swelling.

This surgery is real carpentry and a huge shock to your body.  First couple weeks (if not months) will be a bit of a roller coaster ride... but you will be headed in the right direction overall.

Good luck!

-Bernie

[Dannywayoflife]

Jeez give yourself a break! You've just had major surgery. Different people heal differently and it does seem to me that younger patients often take longer to come back after this opportunity. Think about it young people normally have more muscle and muscle tone, along with generally higher work loads and expectations. Dr Smet is a top surgeon your almost guaranteed a great result

Danny

[OtterDriver]

Hello everyone -

Just trying to get my ducks all in a neat row...any Dr. Pritchett patients use someone other than a family member to escort you the day you were released from Swedish?  As in a service!? 

The now ex-wife is out of the picture...no family or friends near Seattle, but looking to get to SEA/TAC (per Dr. Pritchett's protocol) to fly to my recoup location. 

Any suggestions would be welcomed!

Thanks, Bruce

[jss]

Shabbis, congratulations on the excellent outcome! Too bad you're going to be doing it all again shortly; but at least now you know that once you're past that first week or two that go pretty easily. I can imagine how good it's felt to get back to the gym.

Releasing you to run after two months? Gross and Rogerson tell their patients to wait six. It has surprised me to see how these guys can have such widely varying protocols.

livendive, congratulations on the goal of a sprint this fall. I know you'll be up to it. I'm shooting for a 100 mile bike race the last weekend in August. With even my base gone, it won't be so much a race as an accomplishment. Good luck in March.

[Tim Bratten]

Hope your feeling a little better by now. It's quite a thing they do there: cutting your leg open, pulling the hip apart, hammering in a metal joint and then gluing it all back together again. The amazing thing is that with a little time and patience the body can adapt and soon enough you'll be feeling like new. After a while these first few tough weeks will be a long forgotten memory. Just take your recovery slow and steady and let us know how things are going!

[jss]

From all I've read, Dr Bose is money in the bank for hip resurfacing. That would be another reason to go to him; if you're having to pay out of pocket, it probably costs a lot less. Good luck with your decision.

[rburns]

Hi all,
I have a consult scheduled with Dr. Pritchett in early March. I have had a very difficult time getting responses from "Susan", his assistant. We played phone tag and I was able to chat with her on one occasion, but now she has not responded to several calls, nor left an e-mail address. I have been given a verbal estimate for an out of state (private...traveling from Canada) single resurfacing of approx. $30K. Unfortunately I did not ask about hospital/anesthesia fees (Dr. Su's office gave me a $75K US estimate for that alone, not including Dr. Su's fee). Obviously I would like to get an accurate estimate prior to making the trip. Does anyone have an e-mail for her (not the main reception) or Dr. Pritchett? Thank you!