Any Dr. Su Bilateral Representatives here ?

[Mr.Box]

I have a bilateral scheduled on Sept 14th with Dr. Su. Just wondering if any one on the forum is a Dr. Su Bilat ? And what your experiences were at the hospital and recovery.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Mr. B,  I would strongly suggest the Dr Su send you to stay in the NYU Rusk Rehab Hospital for a week after your surgery.  It's at 33rd st and 1st ave.  I've had four surgeries at Hospital for Special Surgery, both knees and both shoulders, and i still have to schedule two more on my hands with Dr Kang.  I chose to have my surgery at NYU Hospital for joint Disease with Dr Scott Marwin because i liked everything about him and because of the plan for my recovery.  It couldn't have worked out better.

I just posted about my recovery in my post below:


'' I'm also  bilateral patient of Dr Scott Marwin and I also had my surgeries at "the Joint",the old Hospital for Joint Disease and Rusk Rehab Hospital.  Both are now in a new part of the main NYU hospital.  My recovery was nothing short of miraculous.  I was on the surgical floor for three days with PT twice a day and a short walk the day after surgery.  Then I was moved, walked with a walker, to the rehab floor for six days with PT three times a day for six days.  They worked me gently like an old mule. Had me on the stairs with one crutch, on an exercise bike a seven days, kicking a soccer ball, no holding on, at eight days and learned how to get in and out of the bathtub, the car, up and down on the toilet without needing a raised seat.  On the morning of the ninth day, I walked out of there using only one cane.  Dr Marwin and the staff at Joint Disease/Rusk did an amazing job at keeping me comfortable and getting me to work at the beginning of my recovery that now feels fully complete at eight months.

It seems like more doctors are now doing bilaterals, but without a plan for recovery.  They just sent the patient home in three days like a single HR patient.  A lot of single HR patients have a hard time in the first week.  A bilateral patient can have it twice as bad.  As DT has said, make sure that your doctor has a plan for your rehab and it should be a stay in a acute rehab hospital to get you started.''

Dr Su has a great reputation.  Just make sure that there is a plan for your rehab, and I would make it at Rusk especially if you are flying in for surgery.

[Mr.Box]

Thanks for the information Woody! I'm sorta local; Morris County, NJ. I've been told that my hospital stay can be 4-7 days with the option of another week in a rehab facility. I have a 9 month old daughter who I'm eager to be home with, but making the correct decisions after the surgery will allow me to be around her much longer and at a higher quality of life.

I'll see how it works out as my wife works for a law firm who won't allow her time off for the surgery. Two weeks away from the wife and daughter might seem like heaven to some, but I rather cash that in for a Vegas trip. Work schedules and child care will end up cancelling any possible visits during the normal work week.

Being alone in NYC and in a hospital to me sounds like the beginning of a Zombie flick. I'm sure the newly bilats will be the first to perish.  Ha Ha.

[mustang4172]

Hello Mr. Box-

How did your surgery go?  I first saw Dr. Su right around the time you were scheduled for your bilateral.  I'm having bilateral hip resurface with Dr. Su as well, scheduled for Dec. 21st.  I'm 52, and in good physical shape - I've been a road cyclist for about 25 years, swim about 1 mile per week and work out in the gym 3-4 days/week. 
Curious to know how it went for you.  Did you go home right after the surgery and do any in-home PT?  That's what I'm hoping to do.  Am I too being too confident that I won't need a stay in a post-op rehab facility?  If you needed to stay in a rehab facility, did you use one in Morris county area?

[Woodstock Hippy]

Kessler, the number one rated rehab hospital in the US,is right in West Orange.  Do yourself a huge favor and at least check with them.  Don't just plan on toughing it out.  You won't have a leg to stand on.

[Mr.Box]

Hi Mustang,

Welcome to the club. I do have to caution you. I highly caution those who are planning on having bilaterals done to know that the week after might be a living hell. Depending on your meds, and reactions to those you might have difficulty being the least bit mobile. Your upper body strength will aid you in all that you do.

Dr. Su is an excellent surgeon, there is nothing with him that you will have to worry about. The Post Anesthesia Care Unit is great. You'll wake up and feel good. When you do finally get a room you'll be on a older floor in the hospital that will be going through a major renovation within a few years. Everything on the floor is fine, just a bit old.

The daytime nurses at HSS are great. I had great experiences with them and they really helped me understand what was going on with my body. I had a bad experience with one of the night time nurses, and the lack of help unless you blatantly asked for it.

I had a hard time with nausea and with light headedness with the meds, so I tried to stop taking them. ( Bad idea ) you end up being very stiff and sore from the operation ( not a huge amount of pain )

Woody is right though. For a week and a half to two weeks you need major help. ( I'll break it down to you. You lose the ability to relieve yourself by walking to the bathroom. ) Someone who is a professional, or damn well loves you to death and will always be at your side is necessary. There are also moments of depression from either the meds or the loss of your faculties. You walk into the surgery, you can't walk away from it for a few weeks.

I didn't go with a acute-rehab facility afterwards. The post op planers pushed for me to go home directly from the hospital. Even contradicting things I was saying for my best interest. I fully believe that it's something with insurance pushing them to make those recommendations.

My recommendation: Kessler. It sucks being away from your family ( I have a 11 month old daughter ). It really took a toll on me just being in the hospital alone for a few days. I made a bad decision to go home directly from HSS based on loneliness. I highly recommend not making the same mistake.

It took me about 2-3 weeks before I really saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I think having the 24/7 care of Kessler the time might of been shortened that realization and made my recovery quicker. I however am now 7-8 weeks out from the surgery and I'm better than I was before the surgery.

Pain from the hips is basically non existent. The fatigue and soreness surrounding that fatigue is what keeps you from being 100% at this time frame. You also waddle more when you get tired. ( Yes, people will call you a penguin ).

I will tell you this. Talk to the pre-op admissions group and have them look for a bed at Kessler for you. You can always decline after the surgery if you are feeling amazing. They do this at NO CHARGE. With the bilateral, I do recommend you seriously think about going. Try not moving or using your legs for everything going up to the days of the surgery.. you'll see no matter how strong you are, somethings are literally impossible to accomplish.

Post OFTEN on this site if you have any doubts about anything going on with the surgery. I even recommend taking a laptop or ipad to the hospital for keeping in touch with the group here.

And FYI I was in the hospital for 6 days post op. The time of year you are having the surgery is very busy with family activities and responsibilities. You may not be up to those things at that time frame. Even up to 2-weeks post surgery. I would say that my life returned to semi normal 4-5 weeks post surgery. I do what I want within reason ( no sports or impact activities as of yet ). I unfortunately like to add as much information as possible about the surgery so I have to play devils advocate on that part.

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out :) 

[Mr.Box]

I re-read what I typed above... Holy smokes batman I must have been drunk!

Forgive the rambling mess above, if you have questions... Feel free to ask away.