My name is Bill Thom, aged 67 and a Scot living in London.   My hip operation was a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing procedure and was done on November 2nd 2009.   I had been consulting my surgeon Mr. Ronan Treacy for about 7 years as my hip was gradually deteriorating which made it difficult for me to enjoy an active life.    I am an accomplished ski-er and I also play tennis every week.   It was becoming increasingly clear that the BHR solution was pretty ideal for me and eventually, the hip joint showed signs of serious wear and Mr. Treacy advised that it was now up to me to decide whether to have the surgery.

I  was fortunate as I had private medical cover that would cover most of the costs and so I quickly decided around October 2009 to get the thing sorted.   I attended the Priory Hospital in Birmingham where Mr. Treacy does his hip surgery for the pre-operative tests and then was admitted for the surgery on November 2nd.    I met Mr. Treacy who drew where the incision would be made on my hip and I was sure that I was in good hands with him and his team as he has done between 5000-6000 of these operations which is his specialty.    My anaesthetist talked to me about his role, and the next day I was put to sleep. The surgery was conducted in well under an hour and everything went very well.

When I revived and I woke up I was given self administered pain control using morphine and could top up any time I felt discomfort using a button on a small handheld machine.   I was fine.   The only awkward after effect was I had to have a catheter inserted as I could not seem to urinate. The following morning after the surgery I was able to stand and took a few tentative steps with support.   The following day I was able to walk with a type of Zimmer frame up and down the corridor, and the day after that I was walking with two sticks without pain.   The procedure was a complete success and the care and treatment I received from Ronan Treacy and his team was superb as was the care and support given by nursing staff and physiotherapists at the Priory.

I left hospital on the fifth day and when my wife Betsy arrived to pick me up to take me home to London she was amazed how well I was walking with sticks, and standing she thought about two inches taller and with a good posture.   The wound was neat and clean and I had no sign of infection. The dressings used were easily changed and I was given some to take home along with some pain killers.    I did get constipated for a while, probably caused by the morphine and the painkillers, but this was easily dealt with using suppositories for a few days.

Six weeks after the surgery in mid December I returned to Birmingham to see Mr. Treacy and he was very pleased with the progress.  I exercised each day with simple techniques given to me by the physiotherapists at the hospital.   I also started walking about a mile each day, and within 3 weeks of the surgery I was down to one stick, then in a few days I was walking very well without any support.   The leg swelled up after exercise but I used high pillows to raise it while resting and was able to manage the pain reasonably enough.   I had no infection and was careful to follow the procedure of not raising the leg too high and sitting correctly.   I soon began to get full movement and was able with a little help get my socks on and dress myself without assistance.

I was also able to return to playing some gentle tennis doubles and this was just before the end of the year just eight weeks or so after the operation.    To my great surprise Ronan Treacy also said that I would also be able to ski this season, and in the first week of March 2010 just four months after the BHR was done I was zooming down the blue and red runs in Courchevel with a friend.  It was superb exercise for my hip and I only fell once during my six full days of ski-ing.    The one time I took a dive, I landed with a crunch on a rather hard packed piste on the new hip side, but there was no problem.

I would advise any one with a progressive hip problem, especially if you want to be active in your old age, to consider the BHR hip option and get yourself along to see Ronan Treacy. He has basically given me back full movement, and I am free from pain. Should you wish to contact me then I would happily relate the details of my hip resurfacing experience and have no hesitation in recommending the Birmingham team who put me back on the tennis court and the Alpine pistes in under four months.

Bill Thom