Andy’s Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Gross 2020
Andy’s Original Story https://surfacehippy.info/andy-hip-resurfacing-dr-gross-2012/
Hip #1 in 2012: I was in-and-out of pain. When it first started, I would ache for a few days, then it would subside for months. It wasn’t until I joined a tennis league when this started to shift. It wouldn’t always happen, but when it did, I would be in pain from 1-4 days, then no pain for a month or two. It slowly shifted to where the pain would be longer and the pain-free moments would be shorter. As I got closer to a decision, I would be in horrible pain for 7-10 days (couldn’t sleep, walk, sit, etc…), followed by ever shorter periods of no pain. Funny thing is, the day before my surgery I ran 4 pain free miles.
Hip #2 in 2020: I went from only occasional pain to 24-7 pain, and it stayed for 3 months. That’s when I scheduled my surgery. Then, starting in July, it subsided to the point that I wasn’t in much pain at all, and it stayed at that level right up to surgery. However, I had completely modified my activity level to cut out anything that might set it off. So, really I was only out of pain because I wasn’t doing much. Biking was the only exercise I could do. No HIIT training. No boot camp-style things. No jumps, no squats.
I’m now at day 15 after my left hip resurfacing, but I had my right one done in 2012.
There are many, many reasons why a hip resurfacing is far superior to a THR (total hip replacement) in younger people, particularly men. I had my first one done at age 45. I have played squash, but after moving to Georgia in 2008, it was mostly tennis. My hip probably started behaving just like yours. It started out of nowhere, and I had pain for a few days and then it would go away for months. After about 3 bouts of pain (all short-lived), I decided to go see an orthopedic doctor. He indicated that my hip was deteriorating and would eventually need replacing. However, since he did not do resurfacing, his advice (like most surgeons who don’t do resurfacing) was to wait as long as I possibly could. Quick side note: I started taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin at that point, and literally did not have any more hip pain for about 4 years, despite being very active (running, weights, tennis, squash, etc.).
Fast forward about 5-6 years and a move to Atlanta, I started playing a LOT of tennis. Over the course of a few years, the pain came back and got progressively worse. When I would aggravate it, it would hurt for longer, and my recovery periods would be shorter. In time, I would be in terrible pain for 8-10 days or more, and then it would subside for maybe a week. It was at this point where I made the decision. Throughout this time period, though, is when I did all my research on hip resurfacing, so by the time I scheduled my surgery I already knew what I was going to to.
I also want to point out that I could have probably postponed it for a long time if I completely changed my lifestyle and stopped playing tennis, stopped running, and stopped everything else that aggravated it. But that is not how I wanted to live my life. I actually ran 4 miles, pain-free, the day before my surgery.
After my recovery (six month for patients of Dr. Gross), I was able to resume all physical activities. It took another six months to get back to the level of fitness and quickness that I had pre-surgery, but after that I was back 100%. Only time will tell if Andy Murray can regain the quickness he needs to play professionally, but I wouldn’t count him out. Until I had my left hip done, I literally gave NO thought to my right hip. It feels completely normal and doesn’t even factor into my decision making. I am only reminded of it when I go through a metal detector.
As you’ll find the more your read on this site, picking the right surgeon is the #1 most important factor in success, and experience (meaning number of surgeries performed) is THE most important factor. Dr. Gross is over 6500 resurfacings, and he has very detailed statistics of his success. I’m obviously a big fan of his. He is about a 3 hour drive from where I live, but IF I had moved to Oregon or something, I would have flown across the country to have him do my second one. He does a completely non-cemented resurfacing, which appealed to me. The statistics on cemented implants show a similar success rate in the hands of a skilled surgeon, so I’m not knocking that. I just like the idea of not having it cemented and therefore not having that as a possible failure point.