Mike Baker’s Bilateral Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Powell 2011

July 24, 2013

This site was incredible for all the lead up to surgery and through the recovery process. I am glad to say that I am at my 2 year anniversary of my LBHR and it will be 2 years in Dec 2013 for my RBHR. My doctor was James Powell from Calgary.

The recovery has been incredible and has truly changed my life for the better. I am getting back into shape right now and am slowly starting to see the person I once was.

I still have a few issues with flexibility and some minor pain on my right side which I believe is muscular. I did not work on it as hard as I could have in terms of rehab but we had triplets only a year before surgery and work life balance is hard for us public accountants. No excuses but just trying to be honest. However, I see that if I continue to work at it I will get there just not as quickly as some of the amazing surface hippies on this website.

I will sign off for now but wanted to say thank you again and show my appreciation for what you all did for me.

Mike’s Early Story:

September 25, 2011

I had my surgery on a long weekend and my surgeon was going on holidays. I did not get to see him until 2 days after surgery and he said that there was something about the x-ray and therefore I had to be feather weight bearing for 6 weeks. I got a copy of the x-ray and it appeared that the femoral component was shifted very slightly and therefore encroached on the neck of the femur. He DID mention the word "notch" to me but it does not look like a notch but it looks like the component is a bit off. He did say that he would not let me be full weight bearing unless he was 100% happy with the surgery and most of his patients are on restrictions for six weeks. So we will get a chance to see the x-rays again this week. I am definitely concerned because I am about 5′ 10" and 230 lbs and an out of shape ex college linebacker and therefore I would think that I put more stress on my body. But I guess if I have to lose some weight in the pool and take it easy that is fine, I just dread the thought of going to a THR.

September 9, 2011

I had my 6 week appointment today and it went really well. My doc is very happy with the surgery and I am now full weight bearing. I asked about the femoral component and the fact that it was very close to the superior femoral neck and he took me out to look at the x-rays in detail. On this visit he requested a frog leg view of my hip that basically allowed us to see how close the femoral component was and the quality of the bone immediately below the rim of the component and it looked fine. There was a very small area that he said he might have cleaned up due to an osteophyte or similar but nothing to worry about. When pressed he said, sure I would have liked to have the stem more towards the mid-line of the femur and 5 degrees made all the difference with respect to how much valgus the orientation was but he said it was fine and it should work really well for me. He wants to see me at 3 months and we have booked a surgery date of December 6, 2011 to become a bilateral surface hippy!! I am going to have to work really hard over the next 6 weeks to strengthen my surgical side which means lots of walking and swimming. I have a whole bunch of additional exercises to do now and I am going to be fairly conservative in order to protect my hip from the possibility of fracture. I am also going to lose lots of weight in order to be in the best shape possible for the next surgery which will be about 20 weeks after my first. I feel so much better and I know so much more about what to expect going in that at least the mental side will be easier this time.

October 8, 2011

To recap I had a LBHR on July 28, 2011. I was 6 weeks toe touch weight bearing and was worried about the positioning of the femoral component and a potential notch on my femur. The x-rays looked good, may have been a minor notch, I was allowed to go full weight bearing at 6 weeks and what a difference. I am at times forgetting that my surgery even happened and the pain is gone and I can not tell you what that has done for me. I am walking better than I did before but the years of limping are taking their toll and I have to really focus to correct my gait. I need to work on more strength and I can basically do most things without any issues other than climbing stairs and putting my socks on. I am going bilateral in December 2011 and need to work hard to get ready for that surgery, however I feel that I am in a much better place than I was. I know what to expect and I think that will make it easier. I am going to Vegas next week and am a bit nervous about going through the security checks but I am sure it will be ok and at 46, it will not be the first time with the glove treatment for me. I am still worried about messing up my new hip and am a bit careful but everyday it gets a bit better. I am more help at home now but I am having a hard time carrying the kids around. They are sure starting to get big now – we have 15 month old triplets – 1 boy and 2 girls. Anyway I will sign off for now and say goodbye. I still check the site at least a couple times a week and you all are doing great, not much I can add there is a lot of support and expertise here

December 9, 2011

I had my right hip resurfaced on Tuesday and everything went really well. This surgery went so much better than the first. I was a bit worried about the spinal but I remembered that they needed a longer needle last time and the doctor was able to place it much quicker this time. Also they gave me a bit more of something during the surgery because I only remember a bit of hammering instead of hearing everything last time!! I was determined this time to not take the heavy narcotics and it worked much better. I stayed away from the oxycodone and instead they used some morphine the first night but other than that it was tylenol 3s the rest of the way. I was out of the hospital on Thursday afternoon and am now sitting at home and getting reacquainted with my Netfilx account. It has been just about 4 months since my first resurfacing and my left hip is doing well supporting my new bhr. I still have a bit of glute pain in my left side once in awhile and am a bit more tired on my crutches. My doctor is very conservative so I have 6 weeks of feather weight bearing and then back at the rehab again. It is going to be tough but I know that the end is in sight and I am going to feel so much better. I think the only thing I wish I would have done differently was working a bit harder after my first surgery. However I was so scared of potential femoral neck fracture I did not want to do anything to aggressive. Also, it was really hard to work once my left started to feel better because the arthritis in my right side came back with a vengeance. I was able to sleep on my side last night which was wonderful as I remember it took me about a week or more the last time. Thanks again everyone for all the support, I could not have done it as well without you all.

December 14, 2011

8 days post op now and doing really well. I had a bit of a set back as my quad was really sore after I went off the pain meds on the weekend, maybe too soon? Anyway this seemed to resolve itself and I was able to walk for 20 mins yesterday. I also had to go to the doctor today because my bandage which was supposed to last two weeks came open in the shower today and so I had to make sure the area was clean and the doctors office just said to leave it open and dry now. I looked at the scar and it looks a lot bigger than the first one but maybe it is the swelling that is contributing to that. Anyway all good and I hope everyone else is doing well.

January 18, 2012

Just got back from the doctor and everything is fine. He came into the room and chatted with my wife and I for a bit about our 18 month old triplets and then did some range of motion stability stuff and said – ok you are all good lets go see your xrays and you can ditch your crutches!! The placement this time was very similar to my first hip with the stem of the femoral component tipped valgus but a bit off center which places my cup very close to the neck of my femur. He mentioned that I must have had a slight deformity in both of my femurs for him to place it that way. Also this time my cup angle was placed at 35 degrees vs about 40 degrees last time. He mentioned that 35 is the new 45 in the surgical community but not to worry that it will be fine and no issues with edge loading. So now the hard work begins on stage 2 exercises, work in the pool and work on the stationary bike!! But tonight after a 6 hour drive (3 hours there and 3 back) and my wife almost getting a $300 ticket for going 152 kms per hour in a 110 zone (US conversion – going 90 miles per hour with a speed limit of 65 miles per hour), I am going to go to bed and start fresh tomorrow.