Hi everyone, I am two weeks post op. Before going into the details, I want to thank everyone on this site for your insight and guidance. I know I am not the oldest man to get a resurf, but at 73, I may be one of the oldest members of this group.

Two weeks ago (4/9/07) Dr. Daniel Snyder from the Newton/Wellesley Hospital, Newton, Massachusetts, installed a Birmingham hip resurfacing prosthesis in my right hip. After a 1.5 hour operation he told my family at the hospital that the surgery went very well.

My right hip had had been diagnosed with “severe joint collapse and migration of the femoral head”, meaning I was bone on bone with the femoral head pushing up and out of the acetabular socket. This resulted in my right leg being shorter than my left “good” leg by about 1.5 cm pre-op. For a few years pre-op, I had been walking with a limp. By three months pre-op, the limp had become more pronounced and I had started using one crutch. Dr Snyder said that the was able to lengthen the leg by around 1 cm which he said is the maximum possible with the Birmingham hip. He said I would remain with the right leg shorter than the left “good” hip by 5mm or less, but that my pelvis will adjust to that length discrepancy and that I will walk without a limp. I was 100% weight bearing on my resurfaced hip right after surgery.

Dr Snyder had trained to do the BHR Resurf procedure with Dr Derek McMinn, the inventor of the Birmingham hip, in Birmingham England. He said that and I was his 75th BHR patient but that in addition he had previously done about 20 resurfs using another manufacturer before switching to the Birmingham Hip prosthesis. Dr Snyder felt that the learning curve peaks and plateaus at about 25 resurfs.

Having trained with McMinn, Dr Snyder now uses the posterior approach almost exclusively. This is because this muscle and hip capsule sparing procedure results in very rapid patient recovery. The incision on my hip is just 6 inches long (about 15cm).

Dr. Snyder’s post-op protocol is as follows: No 90 degree restriction when bending over the operated leg provided that the legs are kept apart. No need for raised toilet seat. Crossing legs is not allowed for 2 weeks post op. Driving is permitted 2 weeks post op regardless of whether the right or left hip was resurfed T.E.D stockings must be worn during the day to help prevent blood clotting.

Meds after discharge: Coated aspirin twice daily for 4 weeks to thin the blood; Celebex twice daily for one week to reduceinflammation; Percocet (substituted by my drug store with the generic Oxycodon) for pain 1 or 2 capsules every 4 to six hours as needed; Cenecot-s stool softener to be taken while on Oxycodin that can cause constipation.

I was discharged to home care three days after surgery and am slowly improving with the help of the visiting PTs and my wonderful family. Four days after surgery the incision on hip had dried enough to protect the incision permanently remove the dressing. The Steri-strips used to help close the incision, fell off by themselves over the following few days. The initial swelling on my operated leg is pretty much down, but I am not pushing it. I am just happy with the small improvements that I see on most days. I have been limiting myself to just 2 Oxicodon tablets per day but later on this week, when I start driving, I will to switch to just Tylenol as needed. Next Monday April 30 I hope to be driving myself to my first out-patient PT session.

David Lourie 73 years old RBHR 4/9/07 Dr Daniel Snyder, Newton/Wellesley Hospital, Newton, MA

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July 17, 2007

I am now 3 months post op with Dr Snyder. Everything has gone very well. I still have some start up stiffness when getting up from a chair or bed but no pain other than occasional muscle soreness. I walk about three miles a day without any assistance, though still with a little wobble. During PT, I’m still having trouble with side abduction exercises when lying on my non operated side and with straight leg raises when lying on my back. However I am doing fine at my work in property management and am able to lug a bag of tools up three flights of stairs. My ROM is good — I can tie my shoe laces and cut my toenails on the operated leg. Overall I am seeing slow but steady progress. At my 3 month post op meeting with Dr Snyder last week, I was released to play doubles tennis and practice squash.

David Lourie RBHR 4/9/07 Dr Snyder

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November 1, 2007 73 Year old 6 months post-op by Dr. Snyder

Hi Everyone, I Just had my 6 month review with Dr Snyder and he said everything looks great. I was released to start jogging as follows: First walk half an hour then jog 5 minutes. Then gradually increase the jogging and reduce the walking. Keep this progression up until jogging for a full half hour. Also released to do skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking. I am working full time as a property manager but I’ll try to get some of this fun stuff in my schedule. I have no joint pain, but still have some muscle weakness in my operated leg still have a slight limp when I am tired. I am so pleased I had this resurf and would like to thank this group for your insight and encouragement. I truly believe that some day the FDA will limit the THR procedure to be used only with failed resurfs and cases where bone quality is too poor to be resurfed. And that will be true, regardless of the patient’s age. I had just turned 73 years old at the time of my operation. Best regards to you all David Lourie RBHR 4/9/07 Dr Snyder