Hello everyone.  I have been lurking here for quite a while now and wanted to finally share my story.  I am 38 and have been active my whole life.  I used to run and play basketball several times a week and took part in many other sports and martial arts when younger.  About five years ago I developed pain in my right leg, which grew worse over time and eventually started to limit my range of motion.  A year or so after the pain starting on my right side it developed on my left side and caused the same problems.  

Within the two years or so it got to the point where it is difficult to put on my shoes and bending over to pick things up off the floor is not easy to do anymore.  I also had to give up riding my motorcycle because I was not able to put my leg over the bike or spread my legs wide enough to sit on it.  My mother had arthritis in her hips and had them both replaced a year apart when she was 58 and 59.  

Thanks to this site I learned about hip resurfacing.  This past summer we were back in SoCal visiting family and I made an appointment with Dr. Schmalzried.  My x-rays showed severe osteoarthritis in my right hip and moderate arthritis in my left hip.  Dr. Schmalzried recommended resurfacing for both hips.  Later in the summer I sent my x-rays to Dr. Gross and had him evaluate me.  Dr Gross made the same recommendation.  
I guess I went through the same things in my head that everyone here has thought about:  Why me at 38?  I am way too young for this to be happening to me.  Is this worth the risk?  Are my hips bad enough for me to have surgery?  I can still walk relatively pain free and can do most daily tasks without too much trouble.  I no longer run or play basketball and my physical activity is limited to walking these days.  As a result of my hip problems I have put on about 25lbs and miss doing the things I used to.  After considering everything I decided to go forward with the surgery.  I chose Dr. Gross since he is much closer to where I now live in New York and he is willing to do both hips together.  I had the choice of having my right hip done first since it was worse and doing my left down the road, or doing them together.  I want to have both hips fixed at the same time because I will use up most of my sick leave during my recovery and will not be able to take an extended amount of time off work again in the near future.  Also, it sounds much better to go through this process once instead of twice.  

Dr. Gross will resurface my right hip on December 13th and my left hip on December 15th.  I leave on Wednesday and have a pre-op meeting with Dr. Gross on the 9th.  As the date approaches I find myself getting very nervous.  I know I will be in very capable hands though.  I will provide an update after my surgery if anyone is interested.  

Thank you to this site for everything it has taught me over the past year and giving me the information necessary to make an informed decision.  

Quote from: BrianROC on December 05, 2010, 02:25:34 AM
Why me at 38?

You are lucky. People without arthritis have to keep their hips made out of bone, cartilage and gristle. You get the chance of ultra hard high tech alloy bearings. And you don't even have to wait till you are old.

Brian,

You're in really good hands with Dr. Gross I would not worry whatsoever.  Being so young just means that you will probably get the most value from your devices.  When I get up in the morning I have nothing to remind me of my hip surgery as my operated him is better feeling than my non operated one.

Lee and Dr. Gross are awesome and their hospital is great, if you have family coming with you they can stay withing a very short walk accross shared parking lots to the hospital and you won't get lost in that hospital either.

Either doctor you would have chosen would have been a good choice IMHO.

Good luck


Chuck

Brian,

I'm sure things will work out for you and you'll be very happy to did this. BTW, you should check into your company's provisions/requirements regarding short-term disability. Because of the length of time I was out of the office when my BHR's were done (about 5 weeks each), I was required to go on STD (with full pay) in lieu of sick leave. My company is part of a large corporation, so it may be subject to different laws and regulations than yours. Best of luck.

Jim

Brian, good luck with the Bilateral HR. I know you can't get back to no pain. It will be soon. Let us know how you do.

Good luck Brian.  If you feel up to it, why don't you keep us up-to-date on your recovery.  From what I've read about Dr. Gross and his staff, most of their patients have a pretty reasonable recovery.

Mac

Brian -

Good luck with your upcoming resurfacings.  I had bilateral resurfacings done on Oct 22nd by Dr. Su in New York, and our stories are similar in that I gave up riding the bike and many activities because of my range of motion.  I'm now 6 weeks post op, and getting them done at the same time was the best thing in MHO.  One surgery, one anesthesia, and one recovery period.  Your first two weeks will be a challenge, but it gets much better fast if you do the PT faithfully.  If you have any questions let me know, I just went through it...........

Ewald

Good luck Brian, I had both done at the same time and never regretted it. Don't be nervous, in a short time you'll 
be telling us how good you feel!
moe

Brian,
You beat me one month with Dr.Gross and Co. I am getting both of mine done Jan. 10 and 12. I share some of the same experiences as you. I won't even try to sit on a motorcycle anymore (I don't have one but friends do). I can't spread my legs apart to sit! I'll bet you have  a problem stepping into a picnic table also. It's weird. Good for you if you can go for walks. I can go for short ones but that's it. I went for a one hour hike in the woods this past October. What a mistake. I payed for that one for about a week. The pain affects people differently.
I too am getting very nervous as the days get closer to surgery. When Dr. Gross called me on the phone, I was going to ask him what he thought of getting both done at once. I heard of people doing that, but it sounded kind of masochistic, but I wanted to get his input. It turned out that he suggested he do them both the same week before I got the chance to ask him. I didn't know that they were done on separate days. It sounds like they have the procedure down really well. He assured me that all steps are taken to keep pain at a minimum. Sounds like we are in good hands. I'm glad now that one trip there will do it all.
I have the same condition as you. One hip was diagnosed with advanced arthritis, the other with moderate. That diagnosis was in September of 2009 by a local orthopedic surgeon. Now they are both really bad, I can't remember which is which now. That surgeon told me that there is nothing he can do for me and I will be back within a couple of years to have total hip done. Thank God I found this website! I'm 55 years old but the idea of THR did not sound appealing to me at all. I do (did) very physical activities up to about 2 1/2 years ago. The last question I asked Dr.Gross was, "If you did not have any information about me other than my x-rays lying in front of you, what would you think?" His answer, and I'll never forget the way he said it was, "Oh, your hips are terrible. Don't worry, you're not rushing into this." I guess that's why he suggested doing them both before I had the chance to ask.
Good luck and I will be thinking of you the 13th and 15th. You will be O.K. It sounds tough to have them both done, but everyone I read about on this site are glad they did it that way. I know Dr. Gross would not do it that way if it was a problem. Time flies, it will be over before you know it. Just think, you'll have a month in when I'm getting done. I'm jealous! LOL!

Steve

Brian,
I'll be getting bi-lateral BHR's in less than 48 hrs.  I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little anxious about what lies ahead. I've done everything on my end to ensure a good outcome.  I've got a great doc( DR. Marchand) who I feel confident will do a good job. My surgery will be done at an award winning hospital. I've done my pre-op exercises, maintained a good diet and kept my weight down.  I've banked a couple of units of blood just in case and have visited the physical therapy facility I'll be using during my recovery.  I have a recliner, an ice machine, I have raised the height of my bed and toilet and have a bar to safely take a shower. I wouldn't have known to do any of these things had it not been for this fantasic website and the wonderful folks that have shared their stories.

Best of luck. You've got a great doc and I'm sure you'll have no regrets. Just keep a positive attitude and listen to your body. You're young so you'll probaly recover a bit faster than us old timers.lol Please keep us up to date with your progress.

Steve

Good luck Steve, you have covered all the bases and you'll be fine. Enjoy the ride!

moe

Steve,
It's been 6 weeks since my LBHR with Dr. Marchand. You're in really good hands with him and his staff in a top notch hospital. Let me know if you need any info. Good luck to you. Maybe I'll stop by the hospital after the 15th to see how you are doing.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement.  I leave for SC on Wednesday, with my pre-op appointment on Thursday.  I will try to provide an update while I am down there.  

Stevejco-  Good luck with your surgery.  All the best for a quick recovery.  Let us know how it goes.  

Newdog-  Best of luck to you as well.  Since I will only be a few weeks before you I would be happy to answer any questions you have once I am on the other side.  

I'm in almost the exact same position as you Brian and Steve.  The dreaded picnic table.  Never thought I'd be hesitant to sit down at a picnic table.  You should have seen me flop in the snow this weekend trying to pull my gimpy legs out of deep snow.  I'd crawl out of the postholes on my knees , crawl a little more, then gently get up without bending the bad hip.  Then being an idiot, I'd step into some more deep snow and sink and do it all over again.  The important part is that I got my christmas tree.  Shouldn't have rented snow shoes.  Anyway, I'm thinking by next Christmas, I'll have new hips. 

So the more I read about bilateral surgery, I'm thinking I may try to go with it.  My Dr. suggested not, but sure sounds like there are a few docs and hospitals that can crank this stuff out and do a great job of it. 

Enough of that, I wish the best for the three of you guys and I'm looking forward to hearing how you guys do.

Hi Moe and jgenese,
Not sure how long I'll be in the hospital.  With one hip done on a Tuesday your discharged on the following Friday.  Having bi-lats might get me an extra day or so in the hospital. How much time did Dr Marchand allow for you guys?  I suspect your Ins prob has something to do with the length of time allowed.

Tin Soldier lol the dam picnic tables. I've fallen on my but a few times getting in and out of those things.  Best of luck to all the folks on deck it's my turn at bat.

Steve

Brian - Good Luck with your upcoming surgery.  Dr. Gross is a fantastic surgeon.  I look forward to hearing about your experince.  Keep us updated when you can.

Pat

Steve

Good Luck with your upcoming surgery.  I look forward to reading about your recovery.  I hope things go well for you. 

Pat

stevejco,
You will do O.K. Sounds like you are ready and you have things under control.

BrianROC,
I'll take you up on the questions after you are done. I'll email you. We all want to hear how you are doing.

Steve (Newdog)

Steve,
I had my surgery with Dr.Marchand on Friday and went home on Monday but that was only my left side.

Brian & Steve - I just had my second hip done last monday, the first about three months ago. All I can tell you is that the procedure is smooth and my recovery has proceeded well. The important thing to remember for me is that you're going from a degenerative condition, where your world was getting more and more limited to an expansive and for me, a really positive situation.

I had the dread of picnic tables, stairs and one particularly large step on a dais at a wedding that I was part of. I hated showers with tubs and small taxis in South America (those were horrible). My range of movement with the rehabilitated hip (left) is now amazing to me after three months. Strength is back, no pain and I am starting to forget the built - in limitations that I had developed over the years.

I'm on crutches right now (first week on the second hip), but having gone through this one time, I have the confidence in the whole process that maybe I lacked the first. This will be a great summer coming up and I plan to take full advantage.

So, I understand the nervousness, I got it the second time around as well as the first, but I am rooting for you to have great results and getting the pain and small world behind you guys.