New Hippy Dr. Della Valle March 2013

[Marco Polo]

All:  First of all thanks to Pat and all of the members who generously share their experience on this site.  I don't know where I would be without the informatiion that allowed me to move forward with the confidence of knowing that this was the right solution for me.

I had my right hip resurfaced on Friday by Dr. Della Valle at Rush Hospital in Chicago.  It is about a three hour drive but worth it to have the procedure performed by an experienced hip resurfacing surgeon. Della Valle uses the BHR and trained with McMinn. An added bonus is that the orthopedic wing at Rush is only 1 year old and I have been very pleased with their organization and quality of care.

Dr. Della Valle indicated the surgery went very well and the post operative X-rays showed the acetabular cup was placed at 40 degrees.  Della Valle uses a spinal and epidural for anesthesia, and I was very pleased to emerge from surgery without the grogginess I have experienced with general anesthesia.  Pain management has been excellent. I have had two physical therapy sessions and anticipate being released tomorrow morning after one more.

Della Valle is a strong proponent of physical therapy and has prearranged 3 weeks of in home physical therapy and then outpatient PT.

There are many excellent hip resurfacing surgeons, but I believe Della Valle should be on the short list of anyone living in the Midwest. 

I will keep you posted on my progress once I return home and have a few more physical therapy sessions under my belt.  So far so good.

[OtterDriver]

Hello Marco -

Welcome to your new beginning!  Glad to hear you're having a good experience so far.  Exercise patience during your recovery and before you know it...you'll be truck'n around without giving your hip a second thought.

Take care!

Bruce

[evant]

Great news Marco.

Glad all went well for you.

Be patient and extra good to yourself over the next 6 weeks and you'll do just fine.

[Pat Walter]

Congratulations on the New Hip!  Sounds like things are going well for you.  Take it easy and you will have a great, active summer.

I changed the subject line to include your surgeon's name and date for future perspective patients to search easily.

I look forward to reading about your recovery.

Good Luck.

Pat

[hernanu]

Welcome to the other side, Marco - Dr. Della Valle seems to have the same protocol as mine in using PT. Things get better from here. Congratulations!

[maxx6789]

best wishes, macro. for you ... i hope you can sit in the more comfortable seat in your house and enjoy watching the u of m in the ncaa tourney.

if you have not already gone home, i suggest sitting on an extra pillow in the car. for me, the very first car ride home was an unexpected, uncomfortable experience but well worth it for how good you will soon feel.

[Marco Polo]

Steven: I had picked up the tip somewhere about sitting on a pillow during the ride home.  I was pretty stiff by the time we got home, but the pillow helped a lot.

I have a comfy recliner to watch the NCAA tournament.  I am doing my PT and walking on my crutches every 1 to 2 hours throughout the day.  So far the pain has been manageable.  i got a pretty good night's sleep last night but the lack of getting up did result in waking up with some swelling in my thigh.  Thankfully I have an ice machine from a previous arthroscopic knee surgery that I am putting to good use. 

[Marco Polo]

All:

I thought I would post some additiona observations now that I am 6 days post op:

- I continue to be impressed with the organization and responsiveness of Dr. Della Valle's office.  They took care of all the details related to my return home to Michigan (home PT and a nurse to monitor my coumadin levels and vitals) and responded immediately to a question regarding my prescription.
- I am focused on staying hydrated and icing.
- While I am doing the simple stretches recommended by the physical therapist, I am following Dr. Gross' protocol that the best therapy is walking, which I am doing every 2 hours or so.
- I am in awe of the bilaterals that do both hips at once.  It is hard enough to get up and down with one good leg; I can't imagine doing it on 2 operated legs.
- Pain level continues to be manageable.  My biggest challenge is the muscle stiffness I get at night after sleeping a few hours in the same position.
- Recliners are awesome!
- We timed my surgery so my wife would be on vacation and be able to assist.  She has been awesome, and has been a huge help in my first week back.  I would strongly recommend some form of assistance your first few days after returning home.
- The Polar Ice Machine rocks!
- I do not tolerate Vicodin very well.  I pushed the nurse at the hospital for an alternative, and have found that Tramadol relieves my pain and does not make me nauseous.
- I focused on going into my surgery as fit as possible and I believe this has and will help speed up the recovery period.

I will post some additional observations after a few weeks, but I am hoping this has been helpful to those consdering this procedure.  For now I keep reminding my self the importance of patience, and that this is a marathon not a sprint.

[hernanu]

All sounds good, Marco. Keep up the good work.

[PattyM]

Hi Marc!
I am back at work 3 weeks post op. You sound like you are right on schedule.
I wanted to say even at 3 weeks you might want to bring a pillow to sit on
at work. I found that my incision area is still sensitive and the pillow helps allot.
 
I have only worked 3 6 hour days and I am exhausted and sore! I think if you are able
to get away with extra time off, you should take it.
I think even at 3 weeks icing is important, and not very likely while at work.
Patty

[Marco Polo]

Patty:

Glad to hear you are back to work already.  I am planning on returning to work 1/2 days after 3 weeks.  The pillow is a good suggestion.  The P.T. was very happy with my progress, and gave me the go ahead to walk on the treadmill at a slow pace, which is a nice alternative to walking up and down the hall on one crutch.

All the best,

[Michigan97]

Congrats, Marco Polo,

Since I saw your logo, does the U. Of Michigan do any BHR or was Chicago the closest option?  I'm curios to know if they are doing research in this area.

Here's to next year's team on winning it!

[Marco Polo]

Not aware of any surgeons at the U of M doing this procedure.  The only Physician in Michigan that I know has done a substantial number (over 1,300) is Dr. Philip Schmitt in the Detroit area.  I met with him, and he has a number of satisfied patients on this site, but I felt more comfortable with Dr. Della Valle in Chicago.  So far I have been very pleased with both the surgery and recovery.

Go Blue!

[Marco Polo]

All:  I thought I would post a quick 5 week update.  After working part time for the past two weeks and doing my outpatient physical therapy I return to work full time this week. So far my recovery has been going very well.  I have been following my doctor's restrictions, and focusing on stretching, walking and the stationary bike 2 X per day.  No swelling or need for ice for the last few weeks.

I just completed my longest walk without my walking stick - 3 miles.  Some tight muscles but no pain whatsoever. This is an amazing procedure!  I am looking forward to hitting some golf balls at the driving range and riding my bike in another month.  Thanks for all the support on this Board.

[hernanu]

Sounds great Marco. Take it easy and keep to your recovery protocols. This is when you make the most progress, but can feel so good that you push it too much.

Keep it going.

[Marco Polo]

All:

I thought I would post a quick 12 week update.  I was released for all activity except running and heavy lifting at 6 weeks.  I did a few more outpatient physical therapy sessions but I was released from that at about 10 weeks to work on things on my own. Since then I have focused on walking and the eliptical machine with some (should probably be doing more) stretching to improve range of motion. I just got back from a one week trip to the Netherlands and Begium and was able to walk for long periods, climb bell towers, and generally enjoy the sights with no pain!  Quite a change from last summer.

I am looking forward to an active summer and will be focusing on improving the consistency and quality of my workouts.

[hernanu]

Good stuff. The cool thing is you still have a lot of improvement to go. Love the progress.

[packman]

Positive update Marco!
In terms of recovery time, I was just one week ahead of you on my surgery date at 3/21. I have been concentrating on my cardio and some upper body/stomach exercises. The elliptical machines that I have been much more comfortable with, are a strider type and one that has a gentle walk/jog arc - I will have to look up their model names. I avoid the ellipticals that are more vertical on the legs and definitely no stair climbers.
I found the stationary bike good in the beginning but it did not get my heart rate up enough for my weight loss goals. In 9 weeks I have lost over 10 lbs thru diet and exercise.
I am also back to playing golf (mostly walking the 5-6 mile course) on weekends and perhaps once in the week. (I feel some aches & pains but not so much in the hip/leg area), and am careful to back off if I feel tired)
I am avoiding any and all lunges, squats or leg presses until post 6 months and even then it will be with some trepidation and Doctor inquisition - curious on any others experiences on that?
Feels nice to get back to activities I previously enjoyed and am sure you are feeling it too.

[evant]

Good update Marco.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the next 12 weeks even more.