How Do You Feel Following Hip Replacement And Hip Resurfacing?
Mary shares her story of how she feels after undergoing hip replacement and hip resurfacing and whether or not it has slowed her down at all.
More Videos from Andrew Yun, MD, at Saint John’s Health Center Expert 2 videos in this series
Michelle: 54-year-old Mary K. Hacker is in great shape, no doubt. But in the process the Southern California personal trainer has beat up her hips.
Mary K: I started limping. I started running with a little bit of a limp and I just didn’t want to stop. I’d feel better with exercise, not better with a day off, that’s bad. And although exercise does make you feel better, it shouldn’t be pain that’s still at the same level and getting worse.
Michelle: But Mary continued to stay active, water skiing and snow skiing, but the pain would not go away.
Man: Mary K. is an unusual example. She is extremely fit. She is fit more than any of us. She is fitter than I am. She has pushed herself to her body’s limit and she probably also has a hereditary component of hip arthritis.
Michelle: While exercise is usually a good thing, doctors say that all that wear and tear led to premature degeneration of Mary’s hips. In 2006, Mary had hip resurfacing on her right side.
Mary K: And he said it would be a 10-inch incision. I’d be on crutches for three weeks and then it came for three weeks. Right when I got off crutches, he said to walk down the hall from his office without them. And it was like my brain was saying to walk and I couldn’t, but I did. I was afraid of the pain, but there was no pain.
Michelle: Mary was thrilled with the results and more than willing to show us her pin-line scar from the procedure. That’s the good news. The bad news, Mary also needed a complete hip replacement on her left side.
Mary K: We were looking at hip resurfacing but the bone was too far gone. So they called me at home a few days before surgery and told me, “You know what, it’s an anterior incision”. I am vain. I wear a bikini. I don’t want a terrible scar but the right hip, the scar is nothing. Do whatever you need to do on this left hip; I had that attitude at that point.
Michelle: The x-rays revealed Mary’s new hips. You can see the resurfaced hip on the left, the replacement hip on the right.
Mary K: The procedure went fabulous. The whole experience at Saint John’s and the whole…it was enjoyable. I healed very fast and it was wonderful.
Man: Ten years ago this is not conceivable in somebody who is as young and as active as Mary, but because of improvements in technology we can do this type of procedure in a 50-year-old. Hopefully Mary will go on for the next 10, 20, 30 years being a personal trainer, and the joint she has within her, should be able to withstand that force.
Michelle: And Mary is back at it pounding the pavement pain-free.
Mary K: It’s a new life. I searched for five years. Now I kind of wish I had done it a little sooner, but it is what it is.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Yun, call 310-582-7474.
Add a Comment2 Comments
I have this same problem at 34. I'm not having surgery yet, I am currently pain-free due to a hip injection which I plan to repeat. Eventually I will have to have surgery, what I want to know is, what is the pain level like in the first few days after the op?, because that is the one thing that terrifies me about it, and no one seems to talk about it.
November 18, 2011 - 4:36pmThis Comment
i started having left hip pain at around 37. no one would touch me so i suffered for 12 years until my orthopod finally gave me a new left hip. after 5 hours in surgery i came out with a new hip. befor my new hip i was a runner but now its like i cant run very well. kinda have a limp. but as far as the pain...there isnt any. and yes the next day after surgery they wanted me to get up and walk. crazy as it sounds, i got up and yes, no pain compaired to what i had before. the pain is basically from the insision. if your in pain now, consider it. iam glad every day that i did this. no regrets....
November 22, 2011 - 1:31pm