Hi everyone

I am currently looking for some information and peoples experiences with resurfacing, i have read a lot of peoples accounts of their surgery and post op recovery and return to activity , Yet i am finding that peoples average age that they have gotten this surgery is 10-20 years on me .

At 24 years old it was recommended to me by my doctor that i should have a hip resurfacing performed but due to my young age i tried to postpone it as long as possible , I live a very active lifestyle and physical demanding job .My main concerns is would I be able to live the life i currently am and will i have restrictions put on my life.

Has anyone early in their life had this procedure and return with no limitations on their life , including returning to a high level of impact sports and martial arts and heavy weight lifting

Any help would be great
Cheers Chris

Being younger is a benefit rather than a hindrance and is certainly not a reason to delay the procedure. If you are in pain, your lifestyle is being hampered and a reputable surgeon has said you are suitable for HR I would suggest get it done. The only thing you can do by delaying it is damage the joint further.


I am only 3 months post op so not able to report a full back to impact sports recovery but that is my aim too. I would suggest looking in the Athletes Corner section where there will be lots of posts form Martial Artists and weight lifters with successful recoveries.


I would also have a good look through to check out your surgeon. Experience is the key, mine had over 5000 hip resurfacing procedures to his name.

I was 28 at the time of my first bhr now 33. After my first I went back to judo and did a couple of comps( low level local comps I'm no Neil Adams!) I am now nearly a year from my second and im back doing boxing and plan on fighting again this year, im also back doing judo and bjj. not 100% with these just yet but it will come.

My advice to you is go see the best most experienced surgeon you can find with an excellent and proven track record and get your life back.

Danny

Hi Chris. Bummer you dealing with this at such a young age. The timing of when to get this done is always a tough one.

Regarding activity there is no question that you'll be able to return to full, unrestricted activity. There are people doing competitive impact sports on their HRs with no sign of wear.

But as Danny said the most important thing is the surgeon. Has to be installed right and takes a very skilled and experienced surgeon to get it right repeatedly (and I'm talking HR experience, THR experience doesn't count). The importance of picking the right surgeon is true for all of us, but even more so for you because you are young. I can't recommend my guy enough and he's done well over 4000 and publishes his results for all to see. Tri Hard Alan said above that his surgeon (I don't know who) has 5000+. Dannywayoflife's surgeon worked with the inventor of the BHR since the beginning, probably has more experience than anybody. These are the top dogs and exactly the kind of surgeons you want. Don't skimp on this one.

But again, yes, with an HR placed properly you'll be able to do whatever you want. :)

Sorry, I should have said, its Ronan Treacy. Along with Dereck McMinn they invented the current version of the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing and formed a manufacturing company to make them which they later sold to Smith and Nephew. They also train the majority of HR surgeons. The history is quite interesting. And I have to say I found him to be excellent in all aspects.


Of course, this isn't so helpful if you are not in the UK.

Just a little bit too far away for me , i live in Australia but all interesting and helpful points

it really depends how much pain you are in and how your life is being impacted - as to when to do it.

I started noticing my hip was a problem in my late 20s... by 26-27 I noticed that after an hour of racquetball playing, my hip would really hurt... but I could still play, and if I took anti inflammatories, like Aleve, I could get by.  over the next 7-8 years, the pills quit working for me, and it started hurting 24/7... I might must be getting in/out of my car and my hip would hurt unbearably...

at age 27-30 I would never have considered the surgery... my pain was there but not bad enough for me to want to have them do the drastic cutting, drilling, sawing, etc involved.  by age 38 I was probably open to anything, including cutting my leg off if the pain would have stopped.

talk to several doctors.  get multiple opinions.  you will know when the time is right.. everyone says the same thing and now that I have gone through it I agree - I would NOT have waited as long as I did to have the surgery.. in hindsight I waited too long because I was scared about having the surgery.  now that I am through it - I would have done it a few years sooner.. for sure.  my other hip will loikely need to be resurface din the future.. I will definitely do it sooner..and will not wait until I am as bad off.  my quality of life DRASTICALLY improved afterward.

by the time I was at my worst.. I could NOT run.  my son who was 4 could run faster than me.. I was a relatively healrthy, not overweight 37 year old guy.  I would not lift my leg very far and I could NOT sit up totally straight.. my hip was so screwed up...  after surgery it was like a miracle.  I literally almost cried once I realized how much better off I was.

I am now 5 years post op.  last month I went to Mammoth CA and went snowboarding. next week I am going to Tahoe and will snowboard again. I am not some expert snowboarder.. but Iam half way decent for a regular guy... and for being 43 I can keep up with the teenagers. so in my book I am kicking ass..   :)  heck, some of my buddies who went with us on the trip,k who are very fit/buff guys could NOT do it and gave up... I kept up with the teenagers.  must have driven the other dads crazy that the guy with the hip replacement spanked them... :)

good luck.  feel free to IM me with questions.

I went to Dr. Gross in South Caroline.  a long way from you.  he is the best in the USA.

I hope you are pain free soon.  life is too short to live in pain.

Sean