Rob R Zimmer Durom Hip Resurfacing 12/19/07
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My name is Rob, I’m 46 from Ontario and am 6 days post-op Zimmer Durom resurfacing. It all started less than 2 years ago with increasing pain and discomfort in my upper right leg and groin. After a month or so of the pain not going away I called my family physician for an appointment. During the exam my doctor told me of stiffening of the joints, particularly the right groin, he ordered an x-ray for me and suggested the early stages of osteoarthritis. After reviewing the x-ray with me, showing me the diminishing cartilage at the hips mostly the right side.After roughly 10 months of steadily increasing pain, having to take shorter walks with our dog, less riding time on my motorcycle and also starting to affect my job as a aircraft sheet metal mechanic, I called my family physician for another exam. He ordered another x-ray for me and scheduled an appointment with him, by the time we met again it had been 14 months since my original diagnosis. Upon reviewing the 2nd x-ray with me, showing the right hip was bone on bone and the left was quickly deteriorating. He prescribed an anti-inflamatory and pain killer (diclofenac) and set up a consult with one of the many Orthopedic Surgeons (OS) in town. During my consult with the OS, he said I was a candidate for Total Hip Replacement (THR) but would not do it til I was 55 or 60 and should learn to live with pain til then. Discouraged and frustrated I asked my family physician for a consult with a 2nd OS that had performed back to back THR on a work colleague who was 57 at the time, that was 4 years ago and he is a new man now. While the 2nd OS was looking at the x-rays, he asked me which hip was the problem, I told him the right one, he grinned and told me the left was almost as bad with only 1mm of cartilage left. He explained to my wife and I the 3 traditional procedures of THR (metal/plastic, metal/metal and ceramic) now he said there is new option for younger and more active adults, it is called HIP RESURFACING. After explaining this procedure to us by preserving what is there by capping and cupping and not cutting, my wife and I were all for that option. December 19th 2007 was the date set for my right hip resurfacing surgery, less than 3 months after my visit with the 2nd OS. During the next couple of months I used the Internet for research on this procedure and was both encouraged and excited about being pain free. While on the Internet I purchased a great book called HIP REPLACEMENT OR HIP RESURFACING by Peggy Gabriel, full of info and also a link to this website SURFACE HIPPYS. The following is a sequence of events; December 19th 2007 Surgery Day 8:00am December 20th 2007 Day after Surgery 3:00pm up walking with walker to my hospital room door December 21st 2007 2nd Day after surgery up and down hospital hall with walker, now Im allowed to move freely December 22nd 2007 3rd Day after surgery, physio therapist has me do stairs with a cane and OS gives me the OK to go home December 25th 2007 Here I sit at my computer sending you my story, feeling better every day, doing my physio exercises faithfully Staples come out January 2nd 2008 Updates to follow. |