Kim’s Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Clarke 2013

March 10, 2013

Well actually my boss who is an M.D. Had hers done by Dr. Clarke about 3 years ago and she is very happy with the outcome. It is weird because I was already his patient before I went to work for her and now find that he did hers also.

I have no reservations about him since he has been doing this for years. The hardest part for me was coming to terms that it won’t get better on it’s own. Now all that needs to be done is to stay psyched that this is just one hurdle to clear before I can start enjoying my formerly active lifestyle.

Kim

April 7, 2013

Well I made it through. I will say that the staff here at S. Joes, Syracuse, NY are wonderful. I went into the OR at 7:30am and by 3pm I was able to walk about 12 feet down the hall. Ventured out of bed at 8:00pm. Getting up aqnd moving for me reduces my surgery pain so I am looking forward to starting PT today.

The weather forecast for us here in Central New York will be perfect for getting out walking.

Also, I believe I made the right decision for docs. Staying local here works better for my family.

April 12, 2013

Well tomorrow marks one week already. Time sure flies. Off pain meds and only taking Tylenol now and icing. My head feels so much clearer without all the meds. Graduated from the walker to the crutches as soon as my head was clear and my coordination came back. Was way too unstable on the meds.

Learned yesterday that Dr. Clarke did not use any staples and see there is absolutely no bruising of which I am thankful for.

I am just 6 days outof surgery and so very glad that I worked out core, upper body, lower, glutes, etc., etc. i had a trapeze over my bed and could very easily pull my entire body up to reposition myself. Something I could not have done if I had not done all that upper body and core work. Post op, I was cruising the halls that night and have been going strong since.

I paid in pain for my workouts at the gym but I figured I would pay before or after surgery and I choose before. Of course a generous script of vicodin helped me to sleep on those bad nights.

April 17, 2013

I am 11 days out and very happy with my selection. Had my 10-day post op appt. yesterday and found that I am right on track and recovery is going very well.

What a feeling to have that pain gone and only incisional pain left to deal with.

The excellent service that I have received over the past two years from Dr. Clarke and staff continues and confirms to me that I made the right choice.

Looking forward to an active and enjoyable summer!

April 19, 2013

I am only 13 days out but was also experiencing knee pain on the affected leg. The pain is on the outside and wraps right around the knee cap. Told my therapist about this but his response was that we needed to stretch and work the muscles. Continued to work it and the pain went away. However, today he introduced new exercises for me and it is back! His response again was because we are working new muscles. I will continue to push through this and hope he is right.

April 20, 2013

I have a question about PT. Yesterday was my 13th day out of surgery and up to that point I was doing great. Stairs up and down were no problem, walking no problem, etc., etc. pain has been minimal at best until my therapist introduced new exercises yesterday.

He started me on a few with a band for resistance. Wrapped the band around my knees in a seated position and had me lift the affected leg 30 times. Then the other new one was while the band was still in place, do hip adduction (?) I can never get adduction/abduction right. Anyway, I had to pull against the force of the band where the tension was on the outside of my legs, 30 times.

Late yesterday and now today bearing weight is painful and I almost feel like things became unseated in there. Obviously I did not dislocate because if I had I would be in writhing pain.

I don’t want to be a wimp and call the doc unnecessarily and ask if any of you veterans had experienced a similar setback when introduced with new exercises. My PT guy only has experience with one other resurface so I am being very cautious about pushing through this new pain. I am wondering if it was too early to introduce resistance.

Until I can be assured that something like this is normal, I will resign myself to only walking to be on the safe side. Thanks in advance for all input on this. I don’t know what I would do without this site, the information here has been invaluable and comforting to me as I progress through my recovery.

April 13, 2013

I am 3 weeks post op now and feeling very strong going about all my daily living easily. I have been walking unassisted since the 2nd week and now can walk 1/2 mile unassisted with minimal pain. I have been doing the McMinn PT exercises on Vicky Marlow’s site since day 1 but feel the need to start working in some core exercises.

I am still on hip precautions until May 4th so I am limited as well as hesitant about any new exercises that might hinder my recovery. I already overdid once with my home care therapist and don’t want to go down that road again.

May 17, 2013

My post op protocol indicates that at 2 weeks an elliptical trainer is fine to use. So the motion is the same as running for the most part less the pounding.

I am going to get Dr. Clarke’s take on the groomed trails when I see him on Tuesday. Not that I am ready yet but I would like to resume running at my 6-month mark but definitely do not want to screw anything up!

Actually I enjoy trail running more than the roads anyway so I hope this will be an option.

June 9, 2013

I am 9-weeks post op and things are going relatively well with the exception of weird pains in various places in my body. Since surgery I experience weird pains in weird places. One week my shoulder was so painful that it hurt to raise my arm. There was like a quarter size area that was very tender to the touch. After a week it was gone. No explanation as to why it hurt so bad.

I had that weird rib cage pain just a few weeks out with no explanation. Again, about a week and then it was gone.

Now my back is teetering on the edge and any movement can set it off into spasms.

Other weird stuff is that my knee, back of my legs, and elbows gets tender where it is like my shoulder, painful to the touch and increased pain with or without movement.

Aside from these things, My hip feels great and when the rest of me isn’t falling apart I have been very active biking, power walking, gardening, etc. with no hip complaints.

July 7, 2013

I just stopped in for a 13-week report. Most of my previous posts were about this or that going wrong or some other frustration. However, most of that is in the past and at 13 weeks out recovery is now sailing along quite well.

Been back to work for 6 weeks now and aside from getting stiff from sitting all day, it is going well. I make sure that I take a walk every 1/2 hour or so and that helps with the desk job duty.

Returned to the gym 4-weeks ago, doing light hiking, swimming, and biking in addition to walking as much as I can. And those stretching exercises I have learned are very important to continue no matter how good I may feel.

Although I can physically do what I want, I am mindful to back off and not overdo it. Sometimes it is very hard to hold back because I feel so good physically. However, good sense tells me that I am not quite there yet. It is also hard knowing that my husband is out running which is what I formerly loved to do. I keep telling myself that it will happen all in good time.

I think that the most important things I have learned through this experience are patience and more gratitude for the abilities that I do have.

August 6, 2013

Today is my 4-month anniversary with my new hip and I look back and wonder why did I put myself through all those limitations and deal with the pain.

I have had a somewhat long recovery compared to what I read about most on here. I still have soft tissue that is still healing and experience tenderness and do continue to have stiffness but mostly because of sitting too long at work. Laying on either side is still uncomfortable for me. However, those things a minor inconveniences.

Prior to surgery I could not stand still for more than 10 minutes without pain. A few weeks ago I was at an event and after 2 hours standing still in the crowds, I was pain free. When it dawned on me how long I had stood without the pain, I just had a flush of joy run through me knowing that I am healed.

I can’t believe that tomorrow is my 6-month anniversary! I had a few bumps along the way but got on track a few months out and have been progressing well ever since. Been out enjoying my road biking, power walking, canoeing, and hiking in the Adirondacks and nearly back to my previously active life with the exception of running and steep mountain hiking. Dr. Clarke made those two activites off limits until we meet again on Thursday. I am crossing my fingers that he gives me the green light to resume running. I did have a minor incident a month ago and slipped in the mud while hiking. I went right down on my affected hip and thought for sure I had screwed things up. :-\. Fortunately it was nothing major other than a bit of a setback in my activity level. I also noticed that I began to clunk but that too has subsided. One other thing, I got lazy and for a few months did not do my stretches but would do power walking and hard rides on my bike. I am more of a go, go, go person and found the stretches boring. I have since resumed my stretching with that fall and find that they are still most beneficial this far out of surgery. I have learned to slow down and make sure I do them at least once a day, preferably in the morning to get the blood moving. Anyway, I thought I would check in and wanted to say that having this done was the best decision for my active life. I also retired in August and will be doing extensive traveling in a few weeks and will now be able to enjoy the ride pain free. 🙂

October 6, 2013

I can’t believe that tomorrow is my 6-month anniversary!  I had a few bumps along the way but got on track a few months out and have been progressing well ever since.

Been out enjoying my road biking, power walking, canoeing, and hiking in the Adirondacks and nearly back to my previously active life with the exception of running and steep mountain hiking.  Dr. Clarke made those two activities off limits until we meet again on Thursday.  I am crossing my fingers that he gives me the green light to resume running.

I did have a minor incident a month ago and slipped in the mud while hiking. I went right down on my affected hip and thought for sure I had screwed things up.  Fortunately it was nothing major other than a bit of a setback in my activity level. I also noticed that I began to clunk but that too has subsided.

One other thing, I got lazy and for a few months did not do my stretches but would do power walking and hard rides on my bike.  I am more of a go, go, go person and found the stretches boring. I have since resumed my stretching with that fall and find that they are still most beneficial this far out of surgery.  I have learned to slow down and make sure I do them at least once a day, preferably in the morning to get the blood moving.

Anyway, I thought I would check in and wanted to say that having this done was the best decision for my active life.  I also retired in August and will be doing extensive traveling in a few weeks and will now be able to enjoy the ride pain free.

Life is good.

June 26, 2014

I am now nearing 15-months out and my activity level has been soaring. My. Husband and I have been on the road in the Southwest for 7-months now and hiking like a mad woman.

Started with mini hikes of 1-2 miles in January and have graduated to my goal to hike into the Grand Canyon. I have never been able to wear a full backpack until now. I carried a full pack that included 3-liters of water. My total pack weight was about 25-30 pounds and the 3-day trek encompassed and extremely steep descent into the canyon and out over approximately 14 miles.
One other thing I could not do prior to surgery was sleep on a thin pad. I bought a 1 1/2 Thermarest bedroll and slept very comfortably.

That was pretty much my grand event in my recovery. I am still hiking strong down here in the desert and living pain free. In fact, I was able to take the lead on that canyon hike and really finished strong.

One other thing, it wasn’t until I started yoga 12-months out that I felt like I was finally getting where I am supposed to be. Making yoga a part of my daily life even if I only have just 10 minutes to spare.

Closing for now and heading out for more hiking in the slot canyons today. Life is totally good!

November 10, 2014

It has been awhile since I have been on here because I was enjoying my pain free life. I say that with the emphasis on “was”.  Anyway, things were so good I was hiking all over the Southwest for 8 months and even carried a full pack into and out of the Grand Canyon on 2 separate occasions.  Then around May it all started.

It started with pain in my groin and all around my operated hip, however it wasn’t too awful bad but as I continued to be active the pain got progressively worse over the next few months.  I saw Dr. Clarke and he checked my metals which were fine. He also ordered an MRI of my hip and lower back. He also scheduled me for aspiration of my operated hip.

As I was on the table waiting for the horror of the needle in my hip he comes in with my reports and said that it appeared that my hip pain was referred pain coming from a slipped disc in my back and he wanted me to see a back doctor. He said to run the course with the back doctor and if the pain persisted then he would aspirate the hip but really didn’t want to do that procedure that day because everything was pointing at my disc.

I followed up with a back doctor and he basically he told me that there really wasn’t anything wrong with my back that any other 54 year old has. My husband had noted how active I am and the doc’s response was that new hips were designed for 80 year old people and that they were not meant for people to go around carrying full packs and downhill skiing etc.

I was taken aback and left his office wondering what to do. Since all the tests Dr. Clarke ran on me showed nothing wrong with my hip, I am wondering if it is really necessary to have the aspiration?  I just sent my images to the Laser Spine Center for a free review but am very confused because my pain is not only in my operated hip but also my lower back and now my unoperated hip is giving me pain.

October 29, 2015

Well I had my needle aspiration this morning and unfortunately it doesn’t look good. He was able to extract 2cc’s of cloudy brown fluid. Next steps are to get a second opinion with a new back doctor about my bulging dics and while I am doing that Dr. Clarke is sending the fluid to pathology for further testing. He wants to determine if those dics are playing into my pain as referred pain.

What it boils down to is that Clarke said that it looks like I am in the beginning stages of a failure. When I go back for followup in December he will tell me what our next steps are.

November 6, 2015

Dr. Clarke’s office called today with my pathology report from the aspiration. They said I am having an allergic reaction to the metals in the hip. They moved my appointment up 3 weeks and that is all I know.

December 3, 2015

I did hear from Dr. Gross a few weeks ago and he was very kind to talk with me on the telephone for an extended period of time. His take on it was that my hip is so perfectly positioned that he could not have done it any better than Dr. Clarke. He also noted that given my device is so well positioned that the idea of metallosis is very remote. He said that although Smith & Nephew have a voluntary recall on my size BHR that it is basically to cover themselves from inexperienced surgeons who do not get the angle correct initially and given that mine is at a perfect 35 degree angle he does not believe I am at risk for metallosis. He also said that he has never seen a true case of a metal allergy and maybe one or two cases of metallosis. He said that he highly doubts that I have a metal allergy. I noted that my boss who had a BHR definitely had metallosis as her skin erupted with open sores all over. She ended up having her BHR removed. He was a bit intrigued by this. Also, considering my bloodwork is all within normal range that was another indicator why he highly doubted metallosis and I agreed with him on that aspect. He also said that if I am down that way during my travels that he would be glad to take a look which I thought was very kind of him.

This week I finished running the gamut of doctors. Dr. Clarke had believed that I may have had a problem with my back that was referring pain to my hip so to cover all bases he had me see a back doctor a couple of months ago. The back doctor said there was nothing wrong with my back and sent me back to Clarke. Clarke then did the aspiration and recommended that while I was waiting for the pathology to go get a second opinion on my back.

Two days ago I saw a new back doctor (Dr. Lavalle) recommended by Dr. Clarke at an entirely different facility than Clarke’s. The new back doctor had more to say about my back and confirmed that I have some issues of stenosis, arthritis, etc. where L4 and L5 are a problem. He showed me where L4 is slipping forward pressing on nerves that are causing the referred pain. He basically said that it will progressively get worse and when the pain is more than I can bear then I will cry uncle and he will be glad to go in and do surgery. I told him that will have to be in the distant future as I will be traveling until next fall. He did recommend that I have injections in my back but I refused given that I depart in a few weeks. He also said that I can resume any activities providing I can deal with the pain because the only thing that will make my situation worse is time as the arthritis and stenosis progress. I have to follow up with him when I return home next fall.

Then I saw Dr. Clarke today about the aspiration results. I told him what Dr. Gross said and Dr. Clarke responded that he disagrees with the part about a metal allergy. Dr. Clarke indicated that I have a two-fold problem causing the pain which Dr. Lavalle’s opinion on my back causing referred pain and his own opinion today which is that I am having a reaction to the metals. Although I do not have metallosis, there are still metal ions that I am sensitive to which is causing pain. How much of my pain is a result of each is a question neither Dr. Clarke nor the back Dr. Lavalle can answer.

Dr. Clarke wanted me to come back in 6-months but we agreed on a year since I will not be home until next fall. He did say though that if my problem changes or gets worse than I may have to make arrangements to see him.

So that just about wraps things up for me and I do trust Dr. Clarke’s opinion 100%. Given that it is not metallosis or a malpositioned BHR then I am just going to deal with the pain because I really don’t want to go under the knife anytime soon. I know what activities exacerbate the problem (running, hiking, lifting) so I will do those activities within reason so that I am not in pain 24/7. That is the best I can do at this stage of the game.

March 28, 2017

After getting a second opinion from Dr. Damron for a THR I still was on the fence about what to do as I really don’t want a THR yet at my young age. Anyway, I sent all of my records to Dr. Pritchett and spoke with him this morning. He gave me no guarantees but did say that he definitely can fit me with the polyethylene cup to prevent that metal-on-metal that is giving me such issues. He also said that his revisions have been very successful of which I don’t doubt.

My insurance company confirmed that they participate with the hospital and Dr. Pritchett but are looking at one more thing as they have my info mixed up with my husband in their system. Since my husband is on Medicare and I am not that poses a difference in benefits. Once sorted out they will call me back with confirmation and then I guess I will schedule my revision.

So with that I am wondering who else had a revision to the polyethylene cup? Dr. Pritchett said that it is one day surgery about 90 minutes and that there is a 2-week follow up.

What I want to know is how anyone else who had this done is making out. There are no guarantees he said of course, but knowing who has had this done and if hopefully successful then that would give me comfort that I am making the right decision.

 

 

Dr. Pritchett said that I should make a decision to have either the THR done or the polyethylene cup done and I agree as I am finally crying uncle and just want it over with.