My 10 Year Story (in 1,400 words)

Hips Turning Bad
My hips started turning bad in 2014, around my 54th birthday. At the time I was jogging 5 times per week and felt increasingly sore.  Even before, I had experienced some loss of lateral flexibility and my steps had been getting shorter, as longer strides would be painful.  Pain after running was nothing new, but the pain was getting worse and affecting not only running, but also standing for long periods or sitting in crowded places.

A first visit to a local orthopedic surgeon in 2016, followed by MRIs and X-rays confirmed the situation.  Osteoarthritis of both hips, pretty much bone on bone.  The surgeon recommended waiting as long as I could bear the pain, then go for hip replacement (not resurfacing!). This was not really what I had in mind.  The idea of slowly degrading and then having a surgery that would not let me get back to running was not really my idea.  I continued on my bad hips, but my running reduced and the pain increased.  With less exercise my weight increased as well, hitting 200 lbs (91kg) at 6ft tall (183cm).

Enough!
In 2018 I had enough and was looking for a better solution. By that time, I was taking 800mg ibuprofen every day and still feel pain on a regular basis.  Searching online I found BHR(Birmingham Hip Resurfacing) and Dr. Jason Brockwell in Hong Kong.  My first visit was during the Summer.  Jason expressed utter confidence and gave me a very positive feeling during my visit. (And yes, call him by his first name). He also let me know that I was a good candidate. 58 years old, of relatively strong build, active, and eager to get back to long distance running. I had no allergies or other medical problems. Just bad hips.

Jason told me that we could proceed with a bilateral hip resurfacing any time I wanted. I said that I wanted the first hip in November, the second one in February.  His response was—better do both at the same time.  Wow! I’m getting a BHR with cobalt chrome metal-on-metal implants. Almost the biggest ones. Apparently, a large implant size is useful to minimize wear at the edges.

Operation
Fast forward to Friday, November 9, 2018 (Day 1). Checking in at Matilda hospital early morning, I felt quite comfortable. Matilda is a five-star facility—more a hotel than a hospital.  All hospitals should be like this.

Rolling into the operating room, Dr. Bhasker Menon, the anesthetist, bombarded me with information, jokes, and questions.  He is a fireball, and eager to distract patients from the upcoming operation—no doubt, going under for 5 hours is a bit scary. Jason came to the operating room, relaxed, confident, cup of coffee in hand—we are ready to go. I woke up in my room 6 hours after being put onto the operating table. Delirious—apparently. Asking the same question multiple times but not processing the answer.

At the end of the day, I was already on my feet, with a walker.  Next day, Saturday, walking with the walker. Walking a few hundred feet was never that exhausting before. Sunday morning (Day 3), Bhasker tells me that if I can manage crutches and take stairs, I could go home a day early.  Checked out that afternoon.  Yeah. Jason is great following up with emails.  He reminds me to take it easy.  Everyone reminds me to take it easy and not push myself too much.
Monday (3 days after the operation) and the swelling of buttocks and thighs already went down quite a bit.  I am taking an aspirin, mainly as a blood thinner. No significant pain from the wounds, no more hip pain. Yeah!

Recovery
3 days.  Back home. Sleeping ok on my back. No pain, but waking up about 3 times at night. Careful getting in and out of bed.

1 week. Carefully taking showers, standing up, not using a chair.  No pain. Walking inside the apartment for about half a km. Small steps (less than 0.5m / 1.5 ft)

2 weeks. Spending much of the day at home, either sitting on the couch or lying down. Now walking 1km per day, but walking about 400m (quarter mile) in one stretch is exhausting. Jason says to take it easy. Rest, not exercise. Feeling more strength in my legs.  Now much easier to get in and out of bed, just by lifting up the legs.

3 weeks. Walking on crutches inside the home is becoming increasingly easier.  Steps now over 0.5m. Hardest is sitting for long time on an office chair.  Walking without crutches at times, though not supposed to. No pain.

4 weeks. Back to work. Good and bad.  After weeks of watching YouTube, finally more stimulating work activity. But sitting numerous hours in meetings (on bad chairs) quite a pain. Frequently tired in the afternoon, and not yet 100% concentrated at work.

5 weeks. Work feels normal again, although sitting for long hours is still tedious. Feeling very confident going to work with crutches (and confident walking without them).

6 weeks. Confirmed to have full range (beyond 90 degrees) and ok for air travel. Can sleep any position in bed. Back, front, side. Would stitches still feel bumpy and hurt a bit when lying on them, but minimal.

7 to 8 weeks. Flying overseas. Jason recommended flying business class. Expensive, but a wise choice. Traveling with crutches, but no pain standing—though moving along the distances at airports is a bit tedious. First time to drive a car since the operation, straight home from the airport. Legs and feet a bit swollen after arrival, but fine within 48 hours.  While on the overseas trip, using crutches very little (don’t tell the doctor). Thighs still feel tight after walking and climbing stairs.  Driving my sports car again for the first time. It’s low and a bit difficult to get in, but no major pain.

9 weeks.  Return from an overseas trip is also easy. Legs and feet still a bit swollen after arrival, but fine within 48 hours.  Now working on strength and flexibility training to get more range. Using public transport (Underground train) again for travel. Steps now over 0.65m.

10 weeks. Now feeling much more flexibility. Almost normal feeling when going for a casual walk (muscles not tensioning up). Fingertips can touch the ground.

6 months. Finally, back to jogging. Dead slow. I had been stupid in the meantime and gotten ill, with a flu and seemingly worse, which derailed me for quite a while. Always coughing. Jason had urged me to get a flu shot before, and of course, I didn’t. Note to self.

12 months. Exercising is getting easier all the time, but with busy time at work I am exercising too little and still weigh too much. Slow runs. Also, my thigh muscles feel like they are not at the right place yet, literally. I seem to have to run wide-legged at least when getting started. And raising my left knee up high hurts a little. No complaints, though, as I can otherwise do what I want. No restrictions, no problem driving cars, even low riding sports cars.

2.5 years. I have to get into shape. Half marathon might be coming up, finally. After training for 3 months, I finish my first post-op half marathon, just within the time limit. So happy. The months of significant training did wonders. Muscles seem to have redistributed themselves to where they belong. Stride length is back to almost pre-op distance. Great! Now it’s time to lose at least 20 more lbs (10kg) for the next big run.

4 years. I’m almost 62 now and running my second post-op half marathon. Better preparation and lower weight get me 15 minutes faster into the finish line. No hip pain at all. I am back! I am sending a photo to Jason who is happy to hear about my continued progress.

5.5 years (May 2024). I am finally finishing this report to share my great experience. I am jogging 4-5 times per week and the hips are excellent. Annoying is that every time I get on a plane, I get pulled out at security. I must have metal in my pockets—or in my body. But that’s just a small inconvenience. No limitations!