As a 57 year old retired CEO with over thirty years of experience in the medical device industry, I have been in hospitals and ICUs around the world. My experience with Dr. Rector, his staff, and the entire team at Boulder Community Hospital (BCH) can only be described as exemplary. After doing my research online for alternatives to a total hip replacement (whose post implant long term activity restrictions were unacceptable for my lifestyle); I found the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) procedure, and that Dr. James Rector of Boulder was one of the top BHR surgeons in the country. I should have known that my experience with Dr. Rector was going to be special when after leaving a request on his web site for a consultation I got a call from him that evening answering any questions I had about the procedure and giving me a number to call for an office appointment. Having been diagnosed a year earlier with advanced osteoarthritis of both hips, I spent a year with a personal trainer attempting to “train” my way out of pain. Within 12 months, the pain in my left hip was significant enough to stop me from golfing and riding my motorcycle, and I had developed a significant limp.

My experience started with my preoperative visit with Dr. Rector where he fully explained my pre-operative preparation, the surgical procedure, potential complications, and post-operative rehabilitation program. BCH then took over as I attended a class to prepare me for the surgery and post-operative recovery, and I had the most thorough pre-operative interview regarding my medical history that I have had in my entire life. It was very clear from my entire experience at BCH that everything they do is driven by improving clinical outcomes, and every clinician I met repeated this same mantra. My first surgery went very smoothly, arriving home two days after surgery and only using two crutches for the first day. I was walking with a cane within 5 days of surgery, and started walking increased distances outside within 10 days of surgery, stopping the use of a cane just after two weeks. The post-operative outpatient physical therapy with the Boulder Orthopedics team was challenging, and got me back to the gym on the elliptical and lifting weights within 4 weeks of surgery.

I had my second BHR procedure on my right hip 6½ weeks after my first and the overall experience was the same if not better. In this case, I left the hospital the day after surgery about 24 hours post-op. As I write this it is two weeks since my second BHR surgery, I am walking over 4 miles a day outside, and looking forward to getting back in the gym, and resuming my active lifestyle in the spring.

Rodger Stewart