Debbie’s Hip Resurfacing Dr. Brockwell 2009
I am 8 weeks post op after having my right hip resurfaced by Dr Brockwell here in Hong Kong with no complications. It was amazing to wake up completely pain free from the surgery!
Prior to my surgery I consulted other surgeons who just tried to convince me that the only “safe ” way to go was to have THR but thanks to your website and trusting my gut instint I went for the BHR and have not looked back.
March 16, 2009 I had my right hip resurfaced here in Hong Kong six weeks ago ( yes we have an excellent resurfacing surgeon here too!). I have a hospital/needle phobia so the whole build up to my surgery day was very stressful. My doctor suggested that I have a chat with the anaethetist about my fears which I dutifully did. I sat and sobbed and poured my heart out and he was very calm and reassuring and went through the whole proceedure slowly with me. It made me feel much better. Long story short, I made it to the hospital (with the help of a Xanax!) and I am so glad I had the operation. The hip pain had gone when I woke from the operation which was like a good deep sleep.
I have now been back at work for a week ( I am a teacher). Prior to the operation I tried to build up the strength in my legs as much as I could by cycling and using the cross trainer in the gym about 40 mins in total 5x a week as I figured it would help with my recovery. I also asked the surgeon to put me in touch with other people he had operated on recently with which he happily obliged. I communicated with them by email and again was comforted by their experiences and support.
May 13, 2009 I am 14 weeks post RBHR and have not looked back. In hindsight I should have had the surgery earlier . Let me explain. I have had osteoarthritis for 4 years and it progressively got worse – my limp was more pronounced, could not bend easily, avoided stairs, could no longer jog, was taking painkillers, and to be honest, I was changing my life gradually to accomodate my aching hip.
I now realize that I was actually kidding myself that “things aren’t so bad” when everyone around me could see that it was getting worse – I just didn’t want to admit to it as I was so afraid of the surgery. I quite honestly did not realize that I was so bad then!
The deciding factor for me was when I had to take a group of students on a long scenic hike down to a beach and I had to admit to them that I could not make it there and back. They asked “why?” . They asked why I didn’t do anything about it. I had to admit to myself that things were just going to get worse and not better and that I was behaving like an elderly person.
June 14, 2009 I am around 6 months post op on my right hip. The operated hip is fine albiet a bit of clunking every now and then but all the pain disappeared after the operation. Now the left hip is a different story. It was ok up until I started to become active again and return to the gym. I have mild osteoarthritis in my left hip which never bothered me at all but suddenly I had all these aches and pains around my left hip. I really thought that the arthritis had accelerated and that I would soon be needing another BHR. I was starting to feel really down as so many other people seem to be recovering quickly. Anyway, after visiting three physiotherapists (until I found one that made a difference) I am finally making some progress to becoming pain free in my left hip.
Her explanation was that I put had extra stress and strain on the muscles on my left side ( to compensate for the right bad hip) for years and that now suddenly I am expecting my left leg to function “normally” again which has led to the muscles “protesting” . Hence the pains etc. She has taught me a series of exercises and stretches to “re-educate” and strengthen my muscles into functioning “normally” again. I am making slow progress but the pain is decreasing and I suppose I am undoing a few years of muscular stress and strain so it won’t be a quick recovery.