hi guys,
I'm new to the site and thanks for everyone's stories, it really helps getting my head in the right place for what is ahead. I'm scheduled for a BHR with Dr Eastaugh Waring in Bristol, UK on 13th November 2015. Any UK based 'hippies' have any experience of what to expect?
Seems I'm in a similar situation to lots on here with years of playing squash and football have left me in this situation at 46, hoping this will mean I can at least put my socks on without problems at least!
Cheers
Paul
Welcome Paul, I am in Leicester and had my left BHR done last November. I chose a surgeon who was a Wainwright bagger, you seem to have gone one better with an ironman triathlete!
You can check all my posts about my experience, in a nutshell I was walking over a mile with crutches by day 6, jogging after a couple of months, climbing at the same time and last week did just under a hundred miles in Scotland on foot and bike, including Ben Nevis. Total of 881 miles on foot to date. Everything has gone really well with just a few days setback at 6 weeks due to overdoing things a bit. Will be interested to see how your incision is done, mine seems to have been lateral (Hardinge?) rather than the posterior approach that McMinn uses - weak adductors to start but nothing to impede walking. The surgery was a breeze with a spinal block, lots of swelling in the first week but steady improvement every day. Compression stockings and aspirin for 6 weeks to stave off embolisms. Spire Leicester could not have been better. I should be hitting my BHR anniversary as you hit the streets!
Hey Paul nothing to worry about at all.I got home 2 hours ago from having a rbhr at Birmingham by Mr Treacy ( on the good old NHS)
Went in sat morning at nine and on the ward awake at 11.30
I drove myself into a frenzy for the last few years worrying about getting it done,but it really was a piece of cake.got hardly any pain and only on paracetamol now two days on.please don't do what I did and worry yourself sick about it.
Many thanx to the people on this site for all there usefull info and knowledge. Here's to a bright future.
Thanks guys, I'm not going to pretend that I'm not a little nervous before going in but reading things on here really help. I'm going to the Spire Bristol for mine so interested to see how it compares to Leicester.
I was first diagnosed 5 years ago after tearing my labrum playing 5 aside, the MRI found it at the time but on the back of it Mr Eastaugh Waring told me about the excessive ware in the joint. I have been trying to last as long as possible with the help of cortisone injections into the hip but I'm now bone on bone and really struggling.
Seems I struck lucky in my original choice of consultants at the time as he is the only surgeon who does BHR in the South West and it is a specific area of expertise. He has been great up til now and I genuinely feel in very safe hands, it does slightly surprise me though how little info I can find anywhere on him and his results.
Quote from: PMac on September 07, 2015, 04:07:30 PM
Thanks guys, I'm not going to pretend that I'm not a little nervous before going in but reading things on here really help. I'm going to the Spire Bristol for mine so interested to see how it compares to Leicester.
I was first diagnosed 5 years ago after tearing my labrum playing 5 aside, the MRI found it at the time but on the back of it Mr Eastaugh Waring told me about the excessive ware in the joint. I have been trying to last as long as possible with the help of cortisone injections into the hip but I'm now bone on bone and really struggling.
Seems I struck lucky in my original choice of consultants at the time as he is the only surgeon who does BHR in the South West and it is a specific area of expertise. He has been great up til now and I genuinely feel in very safe hands, it does slightly surprise me though how little info I can find anywhere on him and his results.
Nervousness is fine and normal... The odds are good with this surgery and the prospect of walking without that hideous pain is your reward.
The surgery for me seemed amazingly quick. I was on a gurney talking to the nurse and suddenly was in bed with another nurse telling me everything had gone well. A couple of hours had passed, but to me, it was a second.
Good luck, everything is in the pipe, just get ready for a dedicated recuperation and steps back to a very good chance at a pain free life.
Hi Paul,
I endeavoured to post a detailed reply to you yesterday and was on last line, computer shut down(battery probs) and I lost the post! So frustrating!
So I'll do me best!
Welcome to a fellow UK prospective hippy. Great to see that you've found a Bristol surgeon with a special interest in resurfacing. Haven't come across Mr Eastaugh, but like Pete checked his credentials and great too see he participates in Tri and he no doubt understands and appreciates the active patients' needs and requirements.His NJR data shows that he is operating frequently on hips and numerically well above the national average. However, do you have any data re- number of HRs he's performed/revision rates etc.
Paul, you can check my posts from day of surgery back in Jan 2010, but in essence following years of deterioration, increasingly awful limping, pain, ROM becoming more and more limited,and having to cease participation in even biking and swimming a few months before surgery etc etc My resurfacing could not come soon enough! I genuinely went into my operation relaxed and positive and I had a fantastic experience. For you too, instead of deterioration you will gradually and continuously progress until your new hip will feel totally natural and permit you to not only be pain free but enable you to return to your full range of activities.
So in my opinion (and I'm sure numerous other hippies), being a little nervous is perfectly natural but you've also got everything to be positive and excited about too!
Best Wishes
Toby
Thanks guys, regarding the amount of resurfacing he's done I honestly don't know. I do remember him saying that he'd done a lot and it was a speciality. Apparently also he's the only one in the south west doing them. He explained that the decision was made to have one person doing all of them rather than lots of people doing a few each.
I am now actually kind of looking forward to it now, the pain has become noticeably worse over the last few weeks and I just want it done now. I am however a little heavier than ideal so the pain is probably coming from the cross training and cycling in a frantic attempt to get my weight and slightly high blood pressure down (it doesn't hurt in the gym at the time but kills afterwards!)
Genuinely appreciate the support and I'll keep you posted
Hi Paul,
Glad you are choosing a bhr over full hip. From my experience it is an absolute godsend. Had my first resurface about 6 years ago in Harrogate. For me all was fine but they decided a few years ago to stop doing them there. Had my second resurface last September, this time in Birmingham and my experience was even better.
I also think it makes perfect sense for your surgeon to specialise in this area, as much of the bad press is related to inexperience, so I am sure you are in very safe hands. And you will get back to which ever sport you choose. I have started running for the first time in 7 years and I am also back into my main passion of skydiving. The skies the limit mate ;D
Good luck.
Wishing you all the best.
I got my first BHR when I was 51, that's nearly sixteen years ago. It has been fantastic and I have had full value out of it with plenty of tennis and hill-walking. Second one was done a couple of years ago.
At that time, my original one still looked like new on X-ray. The second one has been great as well.
So, be confident and look forward to a much better life.
Granton, that is fantastic!
Thanks for all the great supportive posts everyone. In truth I now wish I was getting it done sooner as the pain has noticeably increased over the last few weeks this could of course be due to the high amount of cardio work I'm doing (non impact of course) trying to get as fit as I can be before the surgery.
My sport of choice is probably a new one on here, I don't run or do anything particularly extreme but what I do for fun is fly a hot air balloon. Try getting out of a balloon basket when you can hardly move your leg! Ok I also played 5 a side football but I'm not convinced I'll go back to that afterwards as I'm in no rush to wear out my right hip!
4 weeks on Friday til my pre-op appointment and 6 weeks until d-day, can't come quick enough now!
This post needs a picture! Hot air balloons!!!!
I know what you are talking about with respect to the pain and anxiousness to just get it done. Some people on here get some good days at the end, days, that make them wonder why they are having surgery. Can't say I have had a day like that.
Ill dig out a picture of my balloon, just tried but the file was too big!
Hi all,
So I'm 5 weeks out now and after some advice please, I'm still hitting the gym as hard as I can can anyone recommend anything I can do before the op to help with the recovery? Any specific weights or just cardio? The dodgy hip is holding up well to no impact cross trainers and bikes as long as I have a day to recover each time.
Keen to know if I can help my recovery by working on anything beforehand.
Cheers
Do you have access to a pool? If so, you could swim or pool run.
My hip is keeping me from doing much more than swimming right now. The pool is keeping me sane.
Thanks Blinky, swimming is good but bores me senseless!
Anyway an update, I emailed my consultant with a question or two the other day and I'm now a little worried after reading some things on here. Seems despite doing loads of THR ops my consultant has only done 200 BHR ops over the last 10 years or so..... Now in a real quandry over what to do, do I consider cancelling? I do have really good vibes from him but at only an average 20 op's per year its certainly a concern.
I am 7 weeks out from surgery and it is just starting to hit me that my life is going to change soon - hopefully for the better. I read some of these stories how people got their lives back and are now doing things they have not done in years. I hope to be one of these people.
You only got one shot at a Hip Resurfacing. I could have got this done sooner and closer to where I live if I would have chose a different DR. I chose DR Gross because of his experience and passion for this procedure. I feel I made the best decision for a positive outcome and have no second thoughts. I would not choose a DR who has only done 200 procedures. This site has provided a list of DR's from all over the country/world who have done over a 1000 of these procedures. I am not sure why you would choose DR with so little experience. I know that some people are limited based on insurance. I would not choose a DR to do this procedure out of convenience. We are talking about a life changing procedure. I would travel anywhere in the US to the DR I felt was the best and wait as long as needed to get an appointment. I want to run again. Everything I have read has told me to choose a DR with experience - If things don't go the way I hoped I still have no regrets.
Good Luck
In a way, I was lucky to find this site after my operation! I chose a local surgeon with a friends recommendation and a heap of good vibes, I told him what I wanted and why and he agreed to do it, with the usual proviso that I would default to a THR if things were not suitable once opened up. I never thought to ask how many BHRs he had done until my checkup at 8 weeks - turns out to be a couple of hundred. He did a brilliant job, the X-ray was perfect and the only warning he gave me was to not knock the head off my femur in the first six weeks by being too adventurous. I was jogging at a couple of months and running properly soon after, and back on the climbing wall (cautiously for the first few visits) at the same time. I hear what the hippy fraternity are saying about experience but I also believe a great surgeon can do both operations well, and I will go back to mine as soon as my other hip gets too painful!
Pmac. Hi. :) Get your external rotation muscles and your internal rotation muscles checked by a physio that specilises in Hip rehabilitation to see if you have lost weakness. The Adductor muscles do compensate once the hip joint gets upset. From my experience don't do too much exercise before the operation say 5 days before take it easy maybe stretches, massage etc. The surgeon would then have to work on tight muscles - ligaments - tendons and could make it harder for him. That is my experience anyway good luck....... Cheers K
Quote from: PMac on October 08, 2015, 03:53:48 AMSeems despite doing loads of THR ops my consultant has only done 200 BHR ops over the last 10 years or so..... Now in a real quandry over what to do, do I consider cancelling? I do have really good vibes from him but at only an average 20 op's per year its certainly a concern.
Although it's certainly possible that you'll have a perfect outcome from this surgeon, especially if your case is not complicated, personally I wouldn't even consider someone with that level of experience. Before cancelling why not consult with a couple of the top surgeons and then make your decision?
It's a quandary because we need more great HR surgeons and they all have to start somewhere. However when it comes to our own bodies like Kingrob says we get one shot at it. This is one area where you ignore convenience and do what you need to do to get the right surgeon.
But I definitely think once you speak to some of the highly experienced ones your decision will be much easier to make.
So various conversations with various people later and I'm extremely positive regarding my surgeon and am definitely sticking with him. Especially as I did attempt to contact Dr Treacy yet had absolutely no response to calls or emails!
The main thing is that I actually have a balloon pilot friend who despite doing knees himself knows my guy extremely well and described him as one of the best surgeons he know's and reassured me that I couldn't be in better hands! Interestingly he also told me that the BHR is an excellent choice and he highly recommends it and told me to ignore the negative press in the UK in the past.
So there we are, pre-op tests on Friday 30th and then two weeks later d-day on Friday 13th November. Decided to buy a riser recliner to help things out as well as I'm another one of these who sleeps on their side so at least I can doze in that and lots of TV box sets to catch up with while im limited in mobility.
Health kick is going well and so far dropped around 20lbs and have another 6 to go to be at the goal I set myself and also the exercise is dropping my blood pressure as well although I'm finding that I can only do the gym every other day as the bad hip really complains for about 24 hours before calming down enough to do it all again!
Just want it over and done with now so that I can get on with the job of recovering.
Thanks to those that have emailed me and messaged me by the way, certainly helped in reassuring me and helping my confidence in everything.
Here is my balloon by the way for those that wanted a picture!
Good job on the weight loss. I hear you on the hip pain slowing down the exercise. I had such grand plans to get in the best shape possible pre op and then couldn't do everything I hoped to do due to pain. Whether it is in my head or in my body, I am deteriorating physically. It is improving my mental readiness for surgery, I can say that at least.
Wonder why no word from Treacy.
The balloon is beautiful. Getting back in there is strong incentive.
Ok so now I'm stressed, had to go for a routine asthma check up today and everything was great however my blood pressure was through the roof! And I'm pretty sure that if it's the same next week at my pre-op I'm in real danger of it not going ahead. Really shocked as I'd been monitoring for a month and it has been well inside the acceptable levels. I've done everything recommended to lower it and now I don't know what to do!
In other news I bought a riser recliner today in readiness but now I'm hoping I get to use it!
In a pretty low place today
High blood pressure could be caused by (subconscious?) stress knowing that your headed for surgery. Did you check with anyone if that would be a problem?
I was wondering that, too. Can you take it again on your own NOT in a doctor's office? See if it is just white coat hypertension?
I guess no time to see your internist. Maybe doing some relaxing and exercising to help bring it down? Eat less salt, find ways to calm your mind.
Good luck.
So after a nights sleep with it rolling around in my mind I'm tending to agree with you to a certain extent, I was picked up on my blood pressure around 18 months ago and started monitoring it at home. As you say as soon as you go in to have it checked it goes up anyway.
Up until yesterday I had been monitoring it 2 or 3 times a week and whilst slightly high it was well within the safe zone. Yesterday was a pretty stressful day at work and I was pretty wound up when I went in for the test but the readings were a real shock to say the least. Of course now I'm stressing about it so it becomes a self fulfilling profecy!
I am going in to my local doctor for a chat on Monday armed with my own readings and if I have to I'll push for some medication which apparently takes a couple of weeks to kick in, this still gives me a week in hand it only has to come down slightly and I'm good to go
Hi Paul - I have the same 'white coat' response to professional blood pressure measurements, seeing over 150 systolic on several occasions over the past couple of years. I too bought my own monitor and went armed with my data just in case but did not need it. Being awake with a spinal block during the op was fascinating because I could see just how low and slow the anaesthetist could get my heart with the drugs cocktail (pulse about 35, systolic well below 100) and I assume this is to minimise blood loss and avoid transfusion. I'm sure you will be fine. I had a small skin biopsy with a local anaesthetic where the nurse did pre- and post-op BP readings and got 152 and 122 - they seem to acknowledge that stress has a major effect...
Good Luck!
Pete
So tomorrow is my pre-op appointment and the good news is my blood pressure is back to normal and I've written the last 3 months readings down so hopefully that will be all good.
So it's two weeks tomorrow til d-day, recliner arrives tomorrow as well so it's all getting very real now and the jitters are definitely starting to kick in now!
Congrats PMac. It'll be over before you know it. I started to get super nervous right before too. Jitters are totally normal for a major surgery like this. Once I flew to SC it really started to seem real, but also realize that you'll be on the other side and healing fast before you know it too! Time seemed to really fly for me after the surgery.
Whew! Glad the bp went down. What do you think did it? Less coffee? Calmer thoughts?
A combination of both I think Blinky, was particularly stressed out when it was last checked as well. Looks like we will be a couple of weeks apart on our op's we should compare notes!
Quote from: jd on October 29, 2015, 03:17:27 PM
Congrats PMac. It'll be over before you know it. I started to get super nervous right before too. Jitters are totally normal for a major surgery like this. Once I flew to SC it really started to seem real, but also realize that you'll be on the other side and healing fast before you know it too! Time seemed to really fly for me after the surgery.
Thanks JD I've been reading your updates with interest, find it really reassuring reading all the positive (and even negative) reports. Just want it done now so I can start recovering. I have a goal as well as we have just booked a long weekend trip to Paris for our anniversary in April. It will be 5 months to the day from my surgery so determined to be walking freely by then!
So pre-op went well and it's all systems go for the 13th, no turning back now!
Yay! Two weeks. You can do this!
Hey, a question I forgot to ask: do we have to do a big Hiblens scrub before surgery? I didn't see that in Dr Gross' instructions. Not a big deal. I just forgot to ask.
Fantastic PMac! Best of luck!
Blinky -- yes, Dr Gross' staff give you a couple of packets of Hibiclens at the pre-op appt and you wash the upper thigh front to back with them the night before and the morning of surgery.
Thanks! I have been reading other joint replacement sites, and sometimes there is a discussion of a big scrub, sleeping on fresh sheets and fresh PJs, etc. Since I hadn't read about that here, I didn't think it would be an issue, but better to know now.
Nah, they don't make a big deal of it. Nothing about sheets, nothing about clothes (although I think some things go without saying, like clean underwear!), just a night-before and morning-of quick wash with the hibiclens just in that area (not a full body scrub).
Blinky, are you scheduled for Monday? You're both so close! Good luck to both of you and it'll be over before you know it!
Travel Monday first leg Wednesday.
No mentions of any scrubs for me, had a meeting with the physio though and had my list of do's and don'ts which was much more strict and lengthy than I had expected. However the physiotherapist then noticed it was a resurfacing rather than a total hip replacement and told me to ignore most of what she'd just said!