Dr. Palmer in Stillwater, MN did my BHR on
Wednesday morning. I was home again on Friday evening. Things are
going well so far. The Percocets keep me sort of groggy and
borderline woozy but I’m already backing off of those. They put me
on two weeks of Warfarin because the crappy insurance I have (ND
CHAND) doesn’t pay up front for prescriptions and I didn’t have an
extra $1500 right now. So, I have to go in and have my blood drawn
locally for the INR twice per week.

I stepped a bit hard getting down the steps in my garage and felt a
“click” in the BHR. I hope I didn’t screw up anything. So, I’m
checking with my sister in law (phlebotomist) and seeing if she can
perhaps draw my blood at home the next few times.

The assistant for Dr. Palmer was Dr. Ganesh who is on a Fellowship
from Alberta. He said he is going to move to Phoenix when he’s done
in September.

The 5 hour drive went just fine. The first thing we did was find a
Culver’s and I had a double cheeseburger and fries. The hospital in
Stillwater has just horrible hospital food. Some of the worst I’ve
had to endure. Their toast is really special. I call it “steamed
toast”. Toast slathered with margarine and placed on a warming plate
with a lid on it. Yuck!

I have my exercises to do and I’m supposed to get up and walk short
and frequent walks. I have a fairly large house so I can make a lap
to the front door, down the hallway and back and through the
kitchen, dining room and living room and then loop back again. I
already had a wheeled walker so that’s what I have been using.

They tried to give me a spinal block for the surgery but couldn’t
get me stuck right. So, they used a general on me instead. Just as
soon as I was awake they gave me some pain meds and got me up to
stand on the BHR. It wasn’t long until I was making regular trips to
the bathroom and taking laps around the nurse’s station. Slow, but
sure.

They only had size XL support hose so I ordered out two pair of XXXL
from an Amazon seller right away. Those should be here this week.
Otherwise, just a regular cold pack on the incision.

The incision is about 12 inches long and is mostly horizontal. Dr.
Palmer doesn’t cut the piriformus and gamelus muscles but rather
splits them down the length of them and then pushes the femoral head
and neck out through them. That is supposed to make it more rapid to
heal being the muscles aren’t severed at all.

I’m looking forward to doing things again. It’s been a long road to
finally get to where I could have the surgery and get it paid for
with insurance. I think things will be looking up from now on around
here.

Neal Martin

9/2/2011

They did another CT scan of my hip at that time.
Dr. Palmer said the cup angle was perfect. That took a load off of
my mind as I had stepped off a step fairly hard on the new hip only
five days post-surgery that caused the hip to “click”. I’ve attached
a combined before and after CT scan x-ray of my hip showing the
advanced arthritis with several cysts and the BHR taken six weeks
post-surgery.

At that time, Dr. Palmer wrote a prescription for PT to build up the
muscles for abduction and adduction. That would get rid of my
“waddle gait”.

I asked Dr. Palmer when I should come and see him again. He told me
that unless I have problems, I don’t ever have to come back again.
He told me to go enjoy the rest of my life.