I last posted a message two years ago and received advice at that time from a member which I followed through on. Below, is a recounting of my hip resurfacing experience to date.
I am a 55 year old male and have just returned home from HSS after receiving bilateral hip resurfacing surgery by Dr. Edwin Su. I spent three nights in the hospital post-surgery. I saw Dr. Su before I was discharged and he said that the surgery went extremely well. I recall him saying that it was a "textbook" surgery.
I have lived with a bad left hip for the vast majority of my life because I developed Legg Perthes Disease when I was a child. Somehow, even with an significantly malformed and enlarged femur/left hip joint, I was able to actively engage in a number of impact sports without too much limitation and have led a normal life. I competed in alpine ski racing in my teens and college and continued to race recreationally up to about 50. I played singles 4.0-4.5 tennis to perhaps 47-48 and continued with doubles up until the last couple of years. I've continued to ski hard, powder, trees, etc., mostly in the Rockies. I got much more interested in golf about 15 years ago, so tennis isn't a big part of my life anymore.
About two years ago my right hip started to bother me and over the last 6-9 months, it had become hard to do simple things. Walking became difficult. My gait shortened, which made it challenging for me to keep up with anyone I was walking with. I also had a pronounced limp. Running became impossible about 2 years ago. Over the years, pain had not been a big problem for me, but my range of motion, which had always been poor, became overly limiting.
I saw three orthopedic surgeons over the last two years. All three had experience with hip resurfacing surgery and the BHR device. The one thing that all three concurred on was that both hips were shot and needed to be replaced. Surgeon One wouldn't even consider doing a resurfacing surgery on my Legg Perthes hip. Surgeon Two thought he "might" be able to do a resurfacing surgery on the left hip, but wanted to make the decision once he opened me up. Surgeon Three – Dr. Su, clearly the most experienced at hip resurfacing of the three, felt confident that he could successfully do a BHR on my left hip. I asked him if he had experience with other Legg Perthes patients and he said it was a rather common condition that brought younger patients in to see him and that he had successfully completed BHR's on a number of Legg Perthes hips. After that consultation, I felt that I had the right guy.
I have a ways to go, but I cannot say enough about how positive an experience I have had with Dr Su and everyone at HSS. They have their act together.
Now it’s one day and one slow step at a time. I have a long way to go and I'm hoping for a routine rehab with no surprises.