Dr. Klug - Fantastic Surgeon/Anterior Approach

[B.I.L.L.]

Anterior is out to an early lead, looking like a runaway....

[Pat Walter]

Hi Bill

I moved your topic to the THR section since very, very few hip resurfacings are done with the anterior approach.  Many surgeons are now using the anterior approach for THRs since the exposure for the acetabular cup is easier than with a hip resurfacing.

Hope you don't mind.  As far as hip resurfacing, most patients have just as fast a recovery with the posterior approach as the anterior.  In fact many of the surgeons using the posterior approach don't even have many restrictions any more.

There is nothing wrong with the anterior approach when the surgeon is experienced.  There are more possibilities for nerve damage with the anterior approach.  The surgeons use what works best for them to give the patient the best outcome.

I hope you are healing well.  Did you have the anterior approach?

Pat

[hernanu]

Hilarious.

How goes it Bill?

[B.I.L.L.]

Pat, no biggie. Maybe I should have titled it, inexperience vs experienced. All I know is Dr Klug is the man ! As we sat in his office looking at my x-rays, after quite a long pause he looked at me and said, "there's a lot of scar tissue if we go in the back...." long pause... "but it's all fresh in the front, the cup can be a pain in the ass that way but I think it will be better" He talked to me like he was working on my car, freakin love that dude haha. It might be harder, but it's no doubt better, as long as the surgeon is experienced. I'll stay off the topic.
Hernanu, sofar so good, time will tell but so far I'm pretty happy. He said it was ready to come out, that it was angry, inflamed, and full of nastiness.... Time to move forward ! See ya guys around, Bill. 

btw I don't know if the sore muscles at 3 years guy will peek in here, but that's just how my problems started, I didn't want to bum the dude out and will probably not be posting about it too much, I know you like to keep it all positive in the main forums

[John C]

Hey Bill,
It is great to hear how well you are doing this time around. Like many on this site, we have been following the roller coaster ride of your first surgery. Sounds like this time around should be a walk in the park, and you will be back in action on the track and in the ocean in no time.
Keep those good reports coming.

[evant]

Glad you're doing well.

Sounds like Dr Klug has done a great job.

Look forward to positive updates all the way.

[Pat Walter]

Bill

Please feel free to say what you want about the anterior approach and of course, Dr. Klug.  I want you to tell people how great he is and how well you are doing.  Makes a lot of sense about doing the anterior to not go thru the scar tissue.  Not all doctors are experienced at that, but I know Dr. Klug is really experienced with great outcomes.

I just changed the title to better tell people about Dr. Klug and your anterior THR revision.

Good Luck and keep posting away!

Pat

[B.I.L.L.]

Thanks you guys. I'll give an occasional progress report 8)

[B.I.L.L.]

Day 15, Been walking with the cane a little, off of the morphine. It's a little sore but not too bad, still taking Norcos. Started at 1-2 every 4 hours, down to 1 every 5-6 hours. I haven't seen the x-rays yet but I read the surgery report. It said I have 2 screws in the cup to help "Initial Stabilization" and that a lot of "gray fluid" was removed. A couple people asked how long the stem was, here is a picture of what I had and what I got side by side

Although I obviously lost more femur than with the bhr, it's not as big (long) as I thought it would be. I'll post the x-rays when I get them. Call me crazy but the first time I couldn't wait to see the x-rays, this time I'm not even thinking about it, I don't why, maybe I don't want to know... ? I'm curious but I'm not obsessing about it, weird. Usually I'm the opposite. Anyway there they are side by side. 8)

[evant]

That looks a sturdy, quality piece of kit B.I.L.L.

Glad you're up and about getting into your rehab.

Very pleased that the 'grey fluid' was removed - whatever it was.

At this stage of your recovery slow and steady wins the race.

[hernanu]

Good stuff. Sounds like it's turning out well, and they got the bad stuff out.

[Some Dude]

9 week update. So far so good. Walking 2-3 miles with no limp or pain, the "clunking" I always had with the bhr is non-existent, so much so that it feels weird to walk without pain or knocking or clicking, it's butter smooth. Range of motion is slowly coming back, I was told not to push until 3 months out, so 3 more weeks and I'll start doing more stretching. The only negative to revising from the bhr so far is I wish I did it sooner. The surgery report said they extracted "Gray fluid" from around the joint and the surrounding tissue was "angry and inflamed". Also the pathology report from the discarded femoral head showed "the cells dividing unusually"  consistent with lymphoma. Dr Klug said the metal ions throw off the test so don't be alarmed, but we want to rule it out. So far a barrage of blood test have turned up nothing, and I had a ct scan yesterday, should have the results in a few days from that. When (I'm thinking positive) that comes back negative it will be full steam ahead. So the thr is not the end of the world and so far is way superior to an incorrectly installed bhr. Long story short is I am glad to have those rubbing grinding clunking mis-aligned pieces of metal out of me.  And you newbies, for the 100 millionth time, don't let just anybody do a resurfacing on you, go to a specialist  8)  You want a craftsman not a carpenter  ;)       

[hernanu]

Good stuff Bill... angry and inflamed... I had a marriage like that  ;D

Excellent that it's so improved - good advice on the carpentry.

[Some Dude]

Thanks hernanu, It's a welcome change  ! 8)     

[whyme]

You are some dude, Some Dude...
Always enjoyable reading your posts!
It's reassuring to hear first hand from a very experienced surgeon patient that there are still good options if the preferred one doesn't work out.

[Some Dude]

You are some dude, Some Dude...
Always enjoyable reading your posts!
It's reassuring to hear first hand from a very experienced surgeon patient that there are still good options if the preferred one doesn't work out.

Thanks !  Yeah obviously no one wants a revision, and I don't want to get too excited and jinx myself, but so far so good.... 8) Thanks for the replies !

[Some Dude]

Week 10. Been walking further everyday. Today I walked 4 miles on the beach trail, about 1/4 mile in soft sand, then spent the afternoon in Dana Pt. walking over rocks at low tide checking out tidepools. Still no knocking, clunking or weird sensations. This surgery seems like a minor inconvienence compared to the first one. Best Christmas present I'll get this year. hands down  8)

[hernanu]

That sounds great. Four miles on the beach! Nice exercise and totally jealous from the tundra in New England.

Merry Xmas.

[Some Dude]

That sounds great. Four miles on the beach! Nice exercise and totally jealous from the tundra in New England.

Merry Xmas.

Merry Christmas to you and your family as well. Sometimes I get tired of the crowds and liberal idiots here in cal i for ni a but we do have it pretty good in the winter  8)

[Some Dude]

11 weeks out on the new one  8)