Question:

. What’s a little geographical inconvenience if it gets you greater skill and experience among the surgeons and all the other support professionals? Cordially, Gene

Well, it isnt just geographical inconvenience that would be the problem.  My husband would have to take time off work to get me to such an institution, which increases the cost of the visit.  He must work for us to live.  That with the paltry amount I receive as SS disability, just about gets us by. So you see, there are other factors to consider. Char "Remember, I’m pulling for ya’.  We’re all in this together."  Red Green

Response:

Gene: Again, your type of health coverage may not be that common. Anyone in a senior HMO (like myself) can’t shop around. I don’t have figures to back me up, but I believe there are millions of people on Medicare alone with no medigap insurance. These people may be limited in their search for the right MD. Aside from that, your story is very inspiring and will definitely help many people who have good medical coverage. Your story provides a blueprint for proceeding on their search for doctors. John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -No, John, My shopping around was not related to deep pockets. While typically Total Hip Replacement costs average in the U.S. between $20 and $25K, my total costs should not exceed $1,500 or $1,600, of which $1,200 already has been paid. Let me explain: Upon retirement in 1998, I signed up with the Oxford Heath Plans HMO which was licensed by the government to administer Medicare coverage in NY, NJ and CT. At that time Oxford had a sterling track record and was affiliated with a blue chip roster of hospitals and a large constituency of outstanding doctors, all board certified. That started falling apart in 1999 because of bad management and financial distress. In 2000, Oxford dropped many of its affiliations and many doctors dropped Oxford because of terminally late payment of fees. Late that year, when I began considering THR, I looked through the Oxford roster of participating providers and learned that many now refused to participate. I did not like the credentials of any of those still active.  So I dropped Oxford and decided to sign up for a Medigap plan. After shopping around on the internet I found the Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company would provide me with Type F supplemental coverage for $1,200 annually…that’s about half what AARP or Aetna charges. I signed up with GTL, paid my first quarterly bill and went ahead with a previously scheduled colonoscopy. The total out of pocket, after Medicare and GTL, ran about $85. I’ve had three visits this year with my internist (listed among "America’s Best Doctors") and the net to me was about $35. When I found the surgeon affiliated with the Hospital for Special Surgery who seemed right, I phoned and asked if they accept Medicare reimbursement. When the answer was, yes, I went ahead and started the process that led to the surgery. Medicare will pay 80 percent of the various bills from doctors and hospital. GTL will pay most of the rest. Had I stuck with Oxford and gone with one of their affiliated hospitals and one of their remaining doctors, I might come out ahead by about $1.000, since their deductions from my Social Security check are smaller than the GTL payments. But the Medicare/Medigap coverage provided the latitude to pick and chose from the very best practitioners and institutions. One other point, who says people in rural areas can’t shop the great institutions in the big cities. You name me a town in the US and I’ll find you a great university hospital and some fine surgeons with a few hours drive. I lived most of my adult life in a suburban town some 35 miles north or NYC. My two sons were born on one of two hospitals (400 and 325 beds) that served the county. At the time, I was close to the staff at a local hospice. It was common knowledge that any time a local medical practitioner became injured or seriously ill, he/she would bypass the very same hospitals where they practiced and make a beeline for the great teaching hospitals in Manhattan. What’s a little geographical inconvenience if it gets you greater skill and experience among the surgeons and all the other support professionals? Cordially, Gene Gene: This is a very inspiring and useful story. I would like to point out a few thoughts. It seems to me you must be very well off financially to "shop" around looking for the "best" orthopedic surgeon. I believe that many of the people who read the messages in this newsgroup are NOT well off financially. For myself, I am a member of a senior HMO. I could only have the operation performed by an orthopedic surgeon who is associated with my primary physician. Many of the people who read these messages might be on Medicare and probably can’t shop around as you did. Probably also, many people live in rural areas and can’t shop around for a surgeon in the big cities as you did. John

Response:

I have had both right and left THR in the past year –  one in August 2000 and the last in May.  I agree whole heartedly with what Gene says. I encourage anyone who has a choice of suffering debilitating pain or replacement to go for the replacement.  I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to be given back my life.  And I don’t exaggerate in saying that. I was merely existing with the pain and immobility caused by RA in my hips. I am surprised that you were walking with a cane by the time you were released from the hospital, Gene.  I had both my surgeries at Mayo in Rochester.  Both times I was instructed to use a walker for the first eight weeks.  When I returned for my eight-week check-up,  I was then told to use a cane until I felt secure enough walking without any kind of assistance.  I used a cane for approximately two weeks and then "struck out" on my own.   The surgeon who replaced my hips does hundreds of replacements a year. He specializes in hips and knees.  As to the cost.  The total bill was a bit less than what my local small town hospital charged for a TKR. Medicare and supplemental covered just about everything except the take home prescriptions.  Of course, there was the added expense of travel and motels,  Rochester being 400 miles from home.  And both times I chose to fly home,  rather than ride in a car after surgery.  I might add that Northwest Airlines does have a special fare for patients flying in and out of Rochester. I feel the added expense of traveling was worth it and I highly recommend Mayo Clinic. Mary

Response:

No, John, My shopping around was not related to deep pockets. While typically Total Hip Replacement costs average in the U.S. between $20 and $25K, my total costs should not exceed $1,500 or $1,600, of which $1,200 already has been paid. Let me explain: Upon retirement in 1998, I signed up with the Oxford Heath Plans HMO which was licensed by the government to administer Medicare coverage in NY, NJ and CT. At that time Oxford had a sterling track record and was affiliated with a blue chip roster of hospitals and a large constituency of outstanding doctors, all board certified. That started falling apart in 1999 because of bad management and financial distress. In 2000, Oxford dropped many of its affiliations and many doctors dropped Oxford because of terminally late payment of fees. Late that year, when I began considering THR, I looked through the Oxford roster of participating providers and learned that many now refused to participate. I did not like the credentials of any of those still active.  So I dropped Oxford and decided to sign up for a Medigap plan. After shopping around on the internet I found the Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company would provide me with Type F supplemental coverage for $1,200 annually…that’s about half what AARP or Aetna charges. I signed up with GTL, paid my first quarterly bill and went ahead with a previously scheduled colonoscopy. The total out of pocket, after Medicare and GTL, ran about $85. I’ve had three visits this year with my internist (listed among "America’s Best Doctors") and the net to me was about $35. When I found the surgeon affiliated with the Hospital for Special Surgery who seemed right, I phoned and asked if they accept Medicare reimbursement. When the answer was, yes, I went ahead and started the process that led to the surgery. Medicare will pay 80 percent of the various bills from doctors and hospital. GTL will pay most of the rest. Had I stuck with Oxford and gone with one of their affiliated hospitals and one of their remaining doctors, I might come out ahead by about $1.000, since their deductions from my Social Security check are smaller than the GTL payments. But the Medicare/Medigap coverage provided the latitude to pick and chose from the very best practitioners and institutions. One other point, who says people in rural areas can’t shop the great institutions in the big cities. You name me a town in the US and I’ll find you a great university hospital and some fine surgeons with a few hours drive. I lived most of my adult life in a suburban town some 35 miles north or NYC. My two sons were born on one of two hospitals (400 and 325 beds) that served the county. At the time, I was close to the staff at a local hospice. It was common knowledge that any time a local medical practitioner became injured or seriously ill, he/she would bypass the very same hospitals where they practiced and make a beeline for the great teaching hospitals in Manhattan. What’s a little geographical inconvenience if it gets you greater skill and experience among the surgeons and all the other support professionals? Cordially, Gene

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Gene: This is a very inspiring and useful story. I would like to point out a few thoughts. It seems to me you must be very well off financially to "shop" around looking for the "best" orthopedic surgeon. I believe that many of the people who read the messages in this newsgroup are NOT well off financially. For myself, I am a member of a senior HMO. I could only have the operation performed by an orthopedic surgeon who is associated with my primary physician. Many of the people who read these messages might be on Medicare and probably can’t shop around as you did. Probably also, many people live in rural areas and can’t shop around for a surgeon in the big cities as you did. John Yesterday a man in his early 50s described to me the acute pain he had been suffering over the past year resulting from an arthritic hip. While he suffered no pain in repose (though the wrong turn during sleep would jolt him awake), he could barely walk 100 feet without experiencing severe discomfort. He had been examined by an orthopedist who illuminated x-rays that illustrated severe loss of cartilage, indicating that total hip replacement was in order. "However, it’s not a clinical issue, said the doctor. "It’s a matter of deciding whether you can live with the pain." The surgeon reported that the prosthetic hips now available have a life expectancy of about 20 years, up from the 12-to-15 that had been predicted as recently as 1999. Should he or shouldn’t he?  "Go for it!" said I this Thursday, exactly 14 days after my own hip replacement, circa July 12, 2001. PREFACE: Stumbled 22 months ago stepping aboard a small boat. Later noticed a "muscle ache" in upper thigh. Ache persisted for four months till I concluded it was not healing itself. Visited an Oxford/Medicare HMO-approved orthopedic specialist, who took x-rays, showed me the severe loss of cartilage in the right hip joint and offered to schedule surgery. I decided to wait in order to enjoy a previously-scheduled vacation trip. The joy of walking the streets of Paris, climbing the cliffs of Provence and exploring the Venetian islands was diminished by increasing pain, radiating from the hip, through the thigh, knee and calf. I was ready for surgery, but the Oxford HMO had abandoned coverage for the region of New Jersey (Bergen County) in which the orthopod practiced. Since I reside in another, nearby county I was able to find a doctor covered by this HMO. He took new x-rays and advised that we proceed. But then, in the process of doing homework on the subject on this newsgroup and throughout the internet, I fell prey to fears about surgery-related heart attack, stroke caused be errant bloodclots, post operative infection and dislocation, among others. But the pain was getting worse. Life was passing me by. Time to get the ball rolling.prudently. Was I healthy enough to withstand surgery? Made an appointment with an internist with excellent credentials at the giant NYU Medical Center one of America’s great teaching hospitals (http://www.med.nyu.edu/). High blood pressure and cholesterol were easily reduced by small dosages of atenolol and lipitor. A subsequent stress echo-cardiogram showed plenty of heart/lung capacity. Since I would have been unable to take a stress test charging along a treadmill, the affect was achieved chemically. Once I received the medical okay, it was time to pick a surgeon. I asked the internist for a referral and he set up an appointment with an orthopedist whose practice also is based at the NYU Medical Center. The surgeon wiggled my leg for a minute or two and then suggested that I should phone for a date whenever I was ready to submit to surgery. It bothered me that he did not deem it necessary order an x-ray. Not you, pal. EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).      1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine      2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species. So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables. Next, I searched again for an orthopedic surgeon whose carpentry credentials placed him within hailing distance of Joseph of Nazareth and Thomas Chippendale. Sure enough, the internet led me to a senior surgeon who had been practicing at HSS for 20 years and whose academic and professional credentials included Johns Hopkins, Cornell Med, Harvard Med and Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston). Got to the hospital two weeks ago Thursday at 6:30 a.m. and on the table at 9:30. A sedative put me to sleep so there was no awareness of the catheters going in the spine and the urethra. No general anesthetic was considered. Epidurals are much safer and your landing is swift and soft. Was wheeled into recovery shortly after 11 a.m. and kept there close to three hours before being transferred to the room that would be home for the next four days. (Two patients per room.I got the window with the view of the East River and its endless flow of boat traffic ranging from inflatable kayaks, to tug-hauling barges, to 150-foot gold platers.) Day One was all about snoozing. Was hooked up to a pain-killer IV drip and the usual bag of electrolytes and meds. Pain was there, but it was mild, therefore it was not necessary to pull the trigger and release any extra shots of the narcotic. Food served was all liquid-broth to sherbet. The staff was magnificent. Hit the call button and you’d rarely wait more than a minute for a response. Patients were monitored for temp and BP every few hours. Nurses, nurse-techs, LPNs and attendants flowed in an out doing their jobs swiftly and cheerfully. Though I didn’t see my surgeon for several days, there were visits from his associates, from the internist who performed my pre-admission physical and from any number of resident doctors. The staff covered me like a blanket. Day Two and a nurse (crazed, I thought) showed up at mid-morning with a walker and told me

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Response:

By the way, if anyone wants my collection of links on the topic, just send me an e-mail asking.

Why not just publish the links in this thread? Don W.

Response:

Dr. Susan?  Dr.Doc, if you’re out there?

You can e-mail directly to Drdoc through the link at his website.  He gets about 30 – 50 e-mails per day and doesn’t always get to respond, but it is worth a try. http://www.arthritis.co.za/ Best regards,

Response:

He appeared to be in poor health, and to put it mildly was unpleasant and disagreeable. It is tough to be pleasant when you hurt all the time. Char "Remember, I’m pulling for ya’.  We’re all in this together."  Red Green

Which is only one of the things I’ve since learned from this amazing man.  I feel privileged now to be one of his friends. — Jo Firey

Response:

Sandy, one place to start is to search the roster of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons http://63.141.36.80/memdir/public/memdir.cfm One resource that should not be overlooked is a recommendation or referral from your own rheumatologist.  Rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons often work together in their practices and the rheumy will know who is and is not good in your area.  Ask for the best surgeon, specifically saying you don’t care that much about bedside manner, you want the best one at doing the job. Best regards,

I talked for just a few minutes with my RD today.  He insisted that I do a Medrol pulse, and wants me to get a bone scan.  I said that I think it could be my SI joint.  He said that the bone scan will show it.  I wonder about that. So, I made an appt for the scan, but the soonest I can get is Aug. 25th.   That’s unacceptable.  I’m going to call some hospitals, ie. Stony Brook, to see if I can get one sooner.  Then, I’ll be in a better position to — Di diane_abell at msn dot com "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world"  John Muir http://www.pbase.com/di http://loveyourmother.homestead.com

Response:

{{{{{Di}}}}}  I am so sorry that the cortisone didn’t help.  Let  us know what the RD says about the bursectomy. Sarah L "Friends are those people who know the words to the song in your heart and sing them back to you when you have forgotten the words."  (unattributed)

Response:

Gene: This is a very inspiring and useful story. I would like to point out a few thoughts. It seems to me you must be very well off financially to "shop" around looking for the "best" orthopedic surgeon. I believe that many of the people who read the messages in this newsgroup are NOT well off financially. For myself, I am a member of a senior HMO. I could only have the operation performed by an orthopedic surgeon who is associated with my primary physician. Many of the people who read these messages might be on Medicare and probably can’t shop around as you did. Probably also, many people live in rural areas and can’t shop around for a surgeon in the big cities as you did. John – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Yesterday a man in his early 50s described to me the acute pain he had been suffering over the past year resulting from an arthritic hip. While he suffered no pain in repose (though the wrong turn during sleep would jolt him awake), he could barely walk 100 feet without experiencing severe discomfort. He had been examined by an orthopedist who illuminated x-rays that illustrated severe loss of cartilage, indicating that total hip replacement was in order. "However, it’s not a clinical issue, said the doctor. "It’s a matter of deciding whether you can live with the pain." The surgeon reported that the prosthetic hips now available have a life expectancy of about 20 years, up from the 12-to-15 that had been predicted as recently as 1999. Should he or shouldn’t he?  "Go for it!" said I this Thursday, exactly 14 days after my own hip replacement, circa July 12, 2001. PREFACE: Stumbled 22 months ago stepping aboard a small boat. Later noticed a "muscle ache" in upper thigh. Ache persisted for four months till I concluded it was not healing itself. Visited an Oxford/Medicare HMO-approved orthopedic specialist, who took x-rays, showed me the severe loss of cartilage in the right hip joint and offered to schedule surgery. I decided to wait in order to enjoy a previously-scheduled vacation trip. The joy of walking the streets of Paris, climbing the cliffs of Provence and exploring the Venetian islands was diminished by increasing pain, radiating from the hip, through the thigh, knee and calf. I was ready for surgery, but the Oxford HMO had abandoned coverage for the region of New Jersey (Bergen County) in which the orthopod practiced. Since I reside in another, nearby county I was able to find a doctor covered by this HMO. He took new x-rays and advised that we proceed. But then, in the process of doing homework on the subject on this newsgroup and throughout the internet, I fell prey to fears about surgery-related heart attack, stroke caused be errant bloodclots, post operative infection and dislocation, among others. But the pain was getting worse. Life was passing me by. Time to get the ball rolling.prudently. Was I healthy enough to withstand surgery? Made an appointment with an internist with excellent credentials at the giant NYU Medical Center one of America’s great teaching hospitals (http://www.med.nyu.edu/). High blood pressure and cholesterol were easily reduced by small dosages of atenolol and lipitor. A subsequent stress echo-cardiogram showed plenty of heart/lung capacity. Since I would have been unable to take a stress test charging along a treadmill, the affect was achieved chemically. Once I received the medical okay, it was time to pick a surgeon. I asked the internist for a referral and he set up an appointment with an orthopedist whose practice also is based at the NYU Medical Center. The surgeon wiggled my leg for a minute or two and then suggested that I should phone for a date whenever I was ready to submit to surgery. It bothered me that he did not deem it necessary order an x-ray. Not you, pal. EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).      1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine      2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species. So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables. Next, I searched again for an orthopedic surgeon whose carpentry credentials placed him within hailing distance of Joseph of Nazareth and Thomas Chippendale. Sure enough, the internet led me to a senior surgeon who had been practicing at HSS for 20 years and whose academic and professional credentials included Johns Hopkins, Cornell Med, Harvard Med and Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston). Got to the hospital two weeks ago Thursday at 6:30 a.m. and on the table at 9:30. A sedative put me to sleep so there was no awareness of the catheters going in the spine and the urethra. No general anesthetic was considered. Epidurals are much safer and your landing is swift and soft. Was wheeled into recovery shortly after 11 a.m. and kept there close to three hours before being transferred to the room that would be home for the next four days. (Two patients per room.I got the window with the view of the East River and its endless flow of boat traffic ranging from inflatable kayaks, to tug-hauling barges, to 150-foot gold platers.) Day One was all about snoozing. Was hooked up to a pain-killer IV drip and the usual bag of electrolytes and meds. Pain was there, but it was mild, therefore it was not necessary to pull the trigger and release any extra shots of the narcotic. Food served was all liquid-broth to sherbet. The staff was magnificent. Hit the call button and you’d rarely wait more than a minute for a response. Patients were monitored for temp and BP every few hours. Nurses, nurse-techs, LPNs and attendants flowed in an out doing their jobs swiftly and cheerfully. Though I didn’t see my surgeon for several days, there were visits from his associates, from the internist who performed my pre-admission physical and from any number of resident doctors. The staff covered me like a blanket. Day Two and a nurse (crazed, I thought) showed up at mid-morning with a walker and told me to take a hike. Gingerly, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Wow.dizziness and nausea. I recovered sufficiently to take four or five steps forward and then back. The hip didn’t exactly hurt; more of a dull ache. It felt like it belonged to somebody else. "The nausea won’t be there when we remove the pain-killer drip," said the nurse. Sure enough, when she came back with the walker several hours after the IV had been removed, I was able to sit up comfortably and could use the walker to progress out of the room and into the hall a few steps. They don’t push you if you are really laboring. The catheter came out of the urethra that day. Expecting a major, ouch!, I found the procedure only mildly uncomfortable. On the morning of Day Three in was time for another stroll.but no walker. Just a cane! Cautiously, I made progress 50 feet or so away from my bed, with a rehab specialist standing by for physical support, if needed. By now I was on solid food, selecting from a standard menu that presented several choices. When it came time for an afternoon excursion, I could circle the floor. The cane was left at my bedside and I was encouraged go for strolls when the spirit beckoned. Care must be taken to avoid certain body positions at all costs. An accidental dislocation of the hip usually is worth about six weeks in a cast. I joined the parade of cane-bearers and walker-pushers touring the floor while appraising some remarkable sights: pedestrians dressed in hospital gowns that tie loosely in back. (Enough to make any plumber blush.) On the morning of Day Four, after examination by various medical staff and a visit by my surgeon, I was invited to check out at will, or stay another night. I chose to leave, although certainly there was no reason to flee the excellent, caring staff. A nurse/tech wheeled me down to the exit at about 3 p.m. and I slid gingerly into the car driven by my wife. A sheet illustrating mild exercises was provided by the physical therapy department. Within two days I received an at-home checkup by an RN from Visiting Nurses of New Jersey, followed by and initial visit by Barbara, the rehabilitation professional. She ran me through the hospital-provided exercises and added a few wrinkles. Given the choice between checking into a rehab facility (covered by insurance) or receiving home visits, I selected the latter. Most of the staff at the hospital felt that only very weak patients (with limited upper-body strength) need check into a live-in rehab center. It was wonderful waking up at home (guest bedroom) on the fifth morning. Barbara came by for a second visit this past Thursday, two weeks after the day of surgery. She upped the impact of the exercises by adding small ankle weights and including some new maneuvers. She plans to come back for a final session at the end of next week. I have been doing the exercises faithfully, twice daily. Every day the hip, the knee, the calf and the ankle are more flexible. Pain is negligible.similar to a tired muscle ache here or there. I’ve been sleeping through the night except for one or two pit stops resulting from vastly increased water intake in compliance with doctors’ orders. The first day or two back home, I’d grab my cane and take two daily walks of three or four hundred yards. Now, 16 days after surgery, I navigate about a half-mile twice each day, carrying the

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Di, Have never heard of this one. You got to do something though. Will removing it limit the movement in any way? Ill take a look around the web today and send you any info if I find some. Sorry you are having so much pain. I hate bursitis. It is the worst I believe. johnie

Response:

Sandy, one place to start is to search the roster of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons http://63.141.36.80/memdir/public/memdir.cfm

One resource that should not be overlooked is a recommendation or referral from your own rheumatologist.  Rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons often work together in their practices and the rheumy will know who is and is not good in your area.  Ask for the best surgeon, specifically saying you don’t care that much about bedside manner, you want the best one at doing the job. Best regards,

Response:

Greetings Gene! Enjoyed reading your post – I’ve had my right hip replaced already and agree with you about the value of going ahead…  My new hip relieved a lot of pain!  However, my left hip is going and my right hip is wearing out (after only about 8 years <growl!) My question is how DO you do the research about the surgeons/hospitals?  I know you said on the internet, but I’m not that good at finding out stuff. Thanks for the encouragement and the information Sandy

Sandy, one place to start is to search the roster of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons http://63.141.36.80/memdir/public/memdir.cfm In some cases there’s little information about the doctor beyond an address and phone number. Others link you to full web sites. I picked a doctor who had gone to the best schools and had been recipient of the most coveted residencies. (There may be great surgeons who went to school on an island where classes are held in the shade of a palm grove…but needing only one doc, I could be ruthless.) I wanted a teaching hospital that specializes in orthopedic surgery,  i.e. (depending on where you live) Anderson Clinic outside of Washington, DC or Rush Arthritis and Orthopedic Institute in Chicago or the Joint Replacement Institute which is connected with UCLA Med School. Choice number 2,  would have been a giant big city medical center which has a very large and active orthopedic surgery department…i.e. the Mayo Clinic’s orthopedic department in Rochester, MN (where George Bush Sr. got his hip) or the University of Alabama teaching hospital in Birmingham. There are some very fine, large hospitals near my home in Northern New Jersey, but geographical convenience was less important to me than gaining the edge medically. It may take a few hours on the web (use the Google search engine) typing in key words such as hip replacement, orthopedics, rehabilitation, joint disease, etc. but you should come away with some confidence that you’ve explored all your alternatives and have weeded out all but the best. Good luck, Gene – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – <snip  EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).       1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine       2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species.  So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables. <snip

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He appeared to be in poor health, and to put it mildly was unpleasant and disagreeable.  

It is tough to be pleasant when you hurt all the time. Char "Remember, I’m pulling for ya’.  We’re all in this together."  Red Green

Response:

Di, I also have the trocanteric bursitis and was told by my dr. that surgery can be done (as a last resort) ro remove the bursa and so relieve the pain.  Ask your dr. Suz Yeah, I’ve heard of that, but totally forgot about it.  The thought scares me alot, though.  I really don’t know what’s involved with the surgery, or what it’s like to not have the bursa.  I guess I’m gonna start looking into it.  Thanks, Suz.

I’m just beside myself.  I had a cortisone injection on friday.  It’s now monday morning.  I can hardly walk, and I’m not going to work today.  I hurt so much. A friend of mine is a medical researcher, so she helped me research the procedure to remove the bursa.  It’s called a bursectomy.  I’m ready.  I really am.  I’m going to call my RD today, and discuss it.  Get a referral to an orthopod.  I know it’s a really obscure procedure, but does anyone have any experience with this?  Dr. Susan?  Dr.Doc, if you’re out there?  I’m so depressed……. — Di diane_abell at msn dot com "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world"  John Muir http://www.pbase.com/di http://loveyourmother.homestead.com

Response:

Gene, I think you were sent from Heaven.  I have been laboring over setting a date for my THR.  I am fearful of all the possibilities that you have mentioned. I am going to the Anderson Clinic in Washington DC where my surgeon does several hundered hips yearly.  I know I have found the right man for the job…and now you have given me a shot of courage. Thanks…thanks…thanks! Rosanne

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings Gene! Enjoyed reading your post – I’ve had my right hip replaced already and agree with you about the value of going ahead…  My new hip relieved a lot of pain!  However, my left hip is going and my right hip is wearing out (after only about 8 years <growl!) My question is how DO you do the research about the surgeons/hospitals?  I know you said on the internet, but I’m not that good at finding out stuff. Thanks for the encouragement and the information Sandy <snip  EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).       1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine       2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species.  So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables. <snip

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yesterday a man in his early 50s described to me the acute pain he had been suffering over the past year resulting from an arthritic hip. While he suffered no pain in repose (though the wrong turn during sleep would jolt him awake), he could barely walk 100 feet without experiencing severe discomfort. He had been examined by an orthopedist who illuminated x-rays that illustrated severe loss of cartilage, indicating that total hip replacement was in order. "However, it’s not a clinical issue, said the doctor. "It’s a matter of deciding whether you can live with the pain." The surgeon reported that the prosthetic hips now available have a life expectancy of about 20 years, up from the 12-to-15 that had been predicted as recently as 1999.  Should he or shouldn’t he?  "Go for it!" said I this

Thursday, exactly 14 days after my own hip replacement, circa July 12, 2001.

Eight years ago a tax client of mine was scheduled for double hip replacements.  The man was eighty years old, and honestly I thought it a waste that he was being put thru this.  He appeared to be in poor health, and to put it mildly was unpleasant and disagreeable.  I felt sorry for his wife being expected to nurse the old grouch thru such a thing when it looked unlikely that he would live much longer in any case. He will be eighty nine on his next birthday.  He’s in excellent health, sharp as a tack with a really wicked sense of humor.  It is always a delight to see this couple.  I look forward to their calls to tell me about their latest trips.  It’s fun to hear about the latest stuff they are up to.  And to see how much they enjoy each others company. — Jo "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" – Albert Einstein

Response:

Greetings Gene! Enjoyed reading your post – I’ve had my right hip replaced already and agree with you about the value of going ahead…  My new hip relieved a lot of pain!  However, my left hip is going and my right hip is wearing out (after only about 8 years <growl!) My question is how DO you do the research about the surgeons/hospitals?  I know you said on the internet, but I’m not that good at finding out stuff. Thanks for the encouragement and the information Sandy <snip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –  EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).       1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine       2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species.  So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables.

<snip

Response:

Di, I also have the trocanteric bursitis and was told by my dr. that surgery can be done (as a last resort) ro remove the bursa and so relieve the pain.  Ask your dr. Suz

Response:

Di, I also have the trocanteric bursitis and was told by my dr. that surgery can be done (as a last resort) ro remove the bursa and so relieve the pain.  Ask your dr. Suz

Yeah, I’ve heard of that, but totally forgot about it.  The thought scares me alot, though.  I really don’t know what’s involved with the surgery, or what it’s like to not have the bursa.  I guess I’m gonna start looking into it.  Thanks, Suz. — Di diane_abell at msn dot com "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world"  John Muir http://www.pbase.com/di http://loveyourmother.homestead.com

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –      1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine Yes, indeedy.  I can still hear the buzz buzz buzz of the saw as my ortho decaptitated my femur. You’re right about the hospital you chose.  It’s one of the best. Back in Nov. 1999I had my own hip done so far uptown it might as well be in New Jersey. Columbia-Presbyterian.  And the surgeon was the same one who repaired my elder son’s football knee 23 years ago when son was 17.  Since then this doc has become one of the best in the city for hips and knees. My experience at C-P was almost identical to yours.  Fantastic. I keep up the exercises my therapist taught me, walk a lot, and do water exercises in a nearby pool twice a week.  These are the exercises developed for arthritis by the Arthritis Foundation and they give me a very good

workout. Sounds like very prudent maintenance. However, would be delighted to prepay for the 2021 model if vendor will guarantee delivery. Cordially, Gene – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As good as my outcome has been, I really don’t want to have to replace any other joints.  The exercise will help prevent that.  And I take glucosamine/chondroitin as a preventive. Your message has been a shot in the arm for this hippie. Joyce

Response:

Excellent post, Gene… you are a sharp cookie.  You have figured out the answer which is so simple… the more they do it, the better they get at it! It is exactly carpentry.  When I was wheeled into the operating room, I recognized many of the tools of the trade, being in the furniture business myself.   I enjoyed your "diary"… in case any missed the original post, which happens sometimes, I’ll quote the whole thing below.  It’s a bit long, but very accurate and useful for anyone thinking about a joint replacement.  

Andy, thanks for reposting Gene’s diary.  And Gene, thanks for writing it.  Though, it has made me jealous. For so many years, I have been cursed with this ailment called bursitis.   Chronic bilateral trochanteric bursitis.  The pain is excrutiating, and there seems to be nothing that can be done, other than trying (and not always succeeding) to alleviate the symptoms.  I can’t tell you how many times I have wished that there was some kind of operation that would fix me. I had xrays of my hip yesterday, prior to getting a cortisone injection.   It was the first time in almost 3 years that my hip was xrayed.  It showed no additional damage to my cartilage.  In fact, my joint looks pretty good.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not unhappy about that.  I’m really thrilled.  I have not moved closer to needing a hip, which is OK by me. But sometimes I think that if my hip would become worse, and I would need to get a THR, then the bursitis will go away also.  I know this is ridiculous, but it really is wishful thinking.  Is it so terrible to wish to be able to be fixed?  I am in so much pain right now I am beside myself, and it’s wearing me to a nub.  I’m so jealous of you hip-sters. — Di diane_abell at msn dot com "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world"  John Muir http://www.pbase.com/di http://loveyourmother.homestead.com

Response:

Excellent post, Gene… you are a sharp cookie.  You have figured out the answer which is so simple… the more they do it, the better they get at it! It is exactly carpentry.  When I was wheeled into the operating room, I recognized many of the tools of the trade, being in the furniture business myself.   I enjoyed your "diary"… in case any missed the original post, which happens sometimes, I’ll quote the whole thing below.  It’s a bit long, but very accurate and useful for anyone thinking about a joint replacement.   By the way, if anyone wants my collection of links on the topic, just send me an e-mail asking. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Yesterday a man in his early 50s described to me the acute pain he had been suffering over the past year resulting from an arthritic hip. While he suffered no pain in repose (though the wrong turn during sleep would jolt him awake), he could barely walk 100 feet without experiencing severe discomfort. He had been examined by an orthopedist who illuminated x-rays that illustrated severe loss of cartilage, indicating that total hip replacement was in order. "However, it’s not a clinical issue, said the doctor. "It’s a matter of deciding whether you can live with the pain." The surgeon reported that the prosthetic hips now available have a life expectancy of about 20 years, up from the 12-to-15 that had been predicted as recently as 1999. Should he or shouldn’t he?  "Go for it!" said I this Thursday, exactly 14 days after my own hip replacement, circa July 12, 2001. PREFACE: Stumbled 22 months ago stepping aboard a small boat. Later noticed a "muscle ache" in upper thigh. Ache persisted for four months till I concluded it was not healing itself. Visited an Oxford/Medicare HMO-approved orthopedic specialist, who took x-rays, showed me the severe loss of cartilage in the right hip joint and offered to schedule surgery. I decided to wait in order to enjoy a previously-scheduled vacation trip. The joy of walking the streets of Paris, climbing the cliffs of Provence and exploring the Venetian islands was diminished by increasing pain, radiating from the hip, through the thigh, knee and calf. I was ready for surgery, but the Oxford HMO had abandoned coverage for the region of New Jersey (Bergen County) in which the orthopod practiced. Since I reside in another, nearby county I was able to find a doctor covered by this HMO. He took new x-rays and advised that we proceed. But then, in the process of doing homework on the subject on this newsgroup and throughout the internet, I fell prey to fears about surgery-related heart attack, stroke caused be errant bloodclots, post operative infection and dislocation, among others. But the pain was getting worse. Life was passing me by. Time to get the ball rolling.prudently. Was I healthy enough to withstand surgery? Made an appointment with an internist with excellent credentials at the giant NYU Medical Center one of America’s great teaching hospitals (http://www.med.nyu.edu/). High blood pressure and cholesterol were easily reduced by small dosages of atenolol and lipitor. A subsequent stress echo-cardiogram showed plenty of heart/lung capacity. Since I would have been unable to take a stress test charging along a treadmill, the affect was achieved chemically. Once I received the medical okay, it was time to pick a surgeon. I asked the internist for a referral and he set up an appointment with an orthopedist whose practice also is based at the NYU Medical Center. The surgeon wiggled my leg for a minute or two and then suggested that I should phone for a date whenever I was ready to submit to surgery. It bothered me that he did not deem it necessary order an x-ray. Not you, pal. EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).      1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine      2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species. So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables. Next, I searched again for an orthopedic surgeon whose carpentry credentials placed him within hailing distance of Joseph of Nazareth and Thomas Chippendale. Sure enough, the internet led me to a senior surgeon who had been practicing at HSS for 20 years and whose academic and professional credentials included Johns Hopkins, Cornell Med, Harvard Med and Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston). Got to the hospital two weeks ago Thursday at 6:30 a.m. and on the table at 9:30. A sedative put me to sleep so there was no awareness of the catheters going in the spine and the urethra. No general anesthetic was considered. Epidurals are much safer and your landing is swift and soft. Was wheeled into recovery shortly after 11 a.m. and kept there close to three hours before being transferred to the room that would be home for the next four days. (Two patients per room.I got the window with the view of the East River and its endless flow of boat traffic ranging from inflatable kayaks, to tug-hauling barges, to 150-foot gold platers.) Day One was all about snoozing. Was hooked up to a pain-killer IV drip and the usual bag of electrolytes and meds. Pain was there, but it was mild, therefore it was not necessary to pull the trigger and release any extra shots of the narcotic. Food served was all liquid-broth to sherbet. The staff was magnificent. Hit the call button and you’d rarely wait more than a minute for a response. Patients were monitored for temp and BP every few hours. Nurses, nurse-techs, LPNs and attendants flowed in an out doing their jobs swiftly and cheerfully. Though I didn’t see my surgeon for several days, there were visits from his associates, from the internist who performed my pre-admission physical and from any number of resident doctors. The staff covered me like a blanket. Day Two and a nurse (crazed, I thought) showed up at mid-morning with a walker and told me to take a hike. Gingerly, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Wow.dizziness and nausea. I recovered sufficiently to take four or five steps forward and then back. The hip didn’t exactly hurt; more of a dull ache. It felt like it belonged to somebody else. "The nausea won’t be there when we remove the pain-killer drip," said the nurse. Sure enough, when she came back with the walker several hours after the IV had been removed, I was able to sit up comfortably and could use the walker to progress out of the room and into the hall a few steps. They don’t push you if you are really laboring. The catheter came out of the urethra that day. Expecting a major, ouch!, I found the procedure only mildly uncomfortable. On the morning of Day Three in was time for another stroll.but no walker. Just a cane! Cautiously, I made progress 50 feet or so away from my bed, with a rehab specialist standing by for physical support, if needed. By now I was on solid food, selecting from a standard menu that presented several choices. When it came time for an afternoon excursion, I could circle the floor. The cane was left at my bedside and I was encouraged go for strolls when the spirit beckoned. Care must be taken to avoid certain body positions at all costs. An accidental dislocation of the hip usually is worth about six weeks in a cast. I joined the parade of cane-bearers and walker-pushers touring the floor while appraising some remarkable sights: pedestrians dressed in hospital gowns that tie loosely in back. (Enough to make any plumber blush.) On the morning of Day Four, after examination by various medical staff and a visit by my surgeon, I was invited to check out at will, or stay another night. I chose to leave, although certainly there was no reason to flee the excellent, caring staff. A nurse/tech wheeled me down to the exit at about 3 p.m. and I slid gingerly into the car driven by my wife. A sheet illustrating mild exercises was provided by the physical therapy department. Within two days I received an at-home checkup by an RN from Visiting Nurses of New Jersey, followed by and initial visit by Barbara, the rehabilitation professional. She ran me through the hospital-provided exercises and added a few wrinkles. Given the choice between checking into a rehab facility (covered by insurance) or receiving home visits, I selected the latter. Most of the staff at the hospital felt that only very weak patients (with limited upper-body strength) need check into a live-in rehab center. It was wonderful waking up at home (guest bedroom) on the fifth morning. Barbara came by for a second visit this past Thursday, two weeks after the day of surgery. She upped the impact of the exercises by adding small ankle weights and including some new maneuvers. She plans to come back for a final session at the end of next week. I have been doing the exercises faithfully, twice daily. Every day the hip, the knee, the calf and the ankle are more flexible. Pain is negligible.similar to a tired muscle ache here or there. I’ve been sleeping through the night except for one or two pit stops resulting from vastly increased water intake in compliance with doctors’ orders. The first day or two back home, I’d grab my cane and take two daily walks of three or four hundred yards. Now, 16 days after surgery, I navigate about a half-mile twice each day, carrying the cane like Gen. Patton’s baton.ready, just in case it’s needed. The hip feels no strain from the walks, but sometimes I’m left a little winded

… read more »

Response:

     1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine

Yes, indeedy.  I can still hear the buzz buzz buzz of the saw as my ortho decaptitated my femur. You’re right about the hospital you chose.  It’s one of the best. Back in Nov. 1999I had my own hip done so far uptown it might as well be in New Jersey. Columbia-Presbyterian.  And the surgeon was the same one who repaired my elder son’s football knee 23 years ago when son was 17.  Since then this doc has become one of the best in the city for hips and knees. My experience at C-P was almost identical to yours.  Fantastic. I keep up the exercises my therapist taught me, walk a lot, and do water exercises in a nearby pool twice a week.  These are the exercises developed for arthritis by the Arthritis Foundation and they give me a very good workout.   As good as my outcome has been, I really don’t want to have to replace any other joints.  The exercise will help prevent that.  And I take glucosamine/chondroitin as a preventive. Your message has been a shot in the arm for this hippie. Joyce

Response:

Yesterday a man in his early 50s described to me the acute pain he had been suffering over the past year resulting from an arthritic hip. While he suffered no pain in repose (though the wrong turn during sleep would jolt him awake), he could barely walk 100 feet without experiencing severe discomfort. He had been examined by an orthopedist who illuminated x-rays that illustrated severe loss of cartilage, indicating that total hip replacement was in order. "However, it’s not a clinical issue, said the doctor. "It’s a matter of deciding whether you can live with the pain." The surgeon reported that the prosthetic hips now available have a life expectancy of about 20 years, up from the 12-to-15 that had been predicted as recently as 1999.  Should he or shouldn’t he?  "Go for it!" said I this Thursday, exactly 14 days after my own hip replacement, circa July 12, 2001. PREFACE: Stumbled 22 months ago stepping aboard a small boat. Later noticed a "muscle ache" in upper thigh. Ache persisted for four months till I concluded it was not healing itself. Visited an Oxford/Medicare HMO-approved orthopedic specialist, who took x-rays, showed me the severe loss of cartilage in the right hip joint and offered to schedule surgery. I decided to wait in order to enjoy a previously-scheduled vacation trip. The joy of walking the streets of Paris, climbing the cliffs of Provence and exploring the Venetian islands was diminished by increasing pain, radiating from the hip, through the thigh, knee and calf.  I was ready for surgery, but the Oxford HMO had abandoned coverage for the region of New Jersey (Bergen County) in which the orthopod practiced. Since I reside in another, nearby county I was able to find a doctor covered by this HMO. He took new x-rays and advised that we proceed. But then, in the process of doing homework on the subject on this newsgroup and throughout the internet, I fell prey to fears about surgery-related heart attack, stroke caused be errant bloodclots, post operative infection and dislocation, among others. But the pain was getting worse. Life was passing me by.  Time to get the ball rolling.prudently. Was I healthy enough to withstand surgery? Made an appointment with an internist with excellent credentials at the giant NYU Medical Center one of America’s great teaching hospitals (http://www.med.nyu.edu/). High blood pressure and cholesterol were easily reduced by small dosages of atenolol and lipitor. A subsequent stress echo-cardiogram showed plenty of heart/lung capacity. Since I would have been unable to take a stress test charging along a treadmill, the affect was achieved chemically. Once I received the medical okay, it was time to pick a surgeon.  I asked the internist for a referral and he set up an appointment with an orthopedist whose practice also is based at the NYU Medical Center. The surgeon wiggled my leg for a minute or two and then suggested that I should phone for a date whenever I was ready to submit to surgery. It bothered me that he did not deem it necessary order an x-ray. Not you, pal.  EUREKA! Having gone through three orthopedists I had a couple of flashes of insight (insanity?).       1.      Hip replacement is more like carpentry than many forms of medicine       2.      The work should be done in a "carpentry shop," not a "supermarket of diseases," where equal emphasis is allocated to organ transplants, cancer care and all other aliments preying upon our species.  So I went back to the internet and discovered that in the metropolitan New York area, The Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) draw orthopedic patients from all over the world. Both institutions turn out hips and knees faster than Ikea delivers coffee tables. Next, I searched again for an orthopedic surgeon whose carpentry credentials placed him within hailing distance of Joseph of Nazareth and Thomas Chippendale. Sure enough, the internet led me to a senior surgeon who had been practicing at HSS for 20 years and whose academic and professional credentials included Johns Hopkins, Cornell Med, Harvard Med and Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston). Got to the hospital two weeks ago Thursday at 6:30 a.m. and on the table at 9:30. A sedative put me to sleep so there was no awareness of the catheters going in the spine and the urethra. No general anesthetic was considered. Epidurals are much safer and your landing is swift and soft. Was wheeled into recovery shortly after 11 a.m. and kept there close to three hours before being transferred to the room that would be home for the next four days. (Two patients per room.I got the window with the view of the East River and its endless flow of boat traffic ranging from inflatable kayaks, to tug-hauling barges, to 150-foot gold platers.)  Day One was all about snoozing. Was hooked up to a pain-killer IV drip and the usual bag of electrolytes and meds. Pain was there, but it was mild, therefore it was not necessary to pull the trigger and release any extra shots of the narcotic. Food served was all liquid-broth to sherbet. The staff was magnificent. Hit the call button and you’d rarely wait more than a minute for a response. Patients were monitored for temp and BP every few hours. Nurses, nurse-techs, LPNs and attendants flowed in an out doing their jobs swiftly and cheerfully. Though I didn’t see my surgeon for several days, there were visits from his associates, from the internist who performed my pre-admission physical and from any number of resident doctors. The staff covered me like a blanket.  Day Two and a nurse (crazed, I thought) showed up at mid-morning with a walker and told me to take a hike. Gingerly, I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Wow.dizziness and nausea. I recovered sufficiently to take four or five steps forward and then back. The hip didn’t exactly hurt; more of a dull ache. It felt like it belonged to somebody else.  "The nausea won’t be there when we remove the pain-killer drip," said the nurse. Sure enough, when she came back with the walker several hours after the IV had been removed, I was able to sit up comfortably and could use the walker to progress out of the room and into the hall a few steps. They don’t push you if you are really laboring. The catheter came out of the urethra that day. Expecting a major, ouch!, I found the procedure only mildly uncomfortable. On the morning of Day Three in was time for another stroll.but no walker. Just a cane! Cautiously, I made progress 50 feet or so away from my bed, with a rehab specialist standing by for physical support, if needed. By now I was on solid food, selecting from a standard menu that presented several choices. When it came time for an afternoon excursion, I could circle the floor. The cane was left at my bedside and I was encouraged go for strolls when the spirit beckoned.  Care must be taken to avoid certain body positions at all costs. An accidental dislocation of the hip usually is worth about six weeks in a cast. I joined the parade of cane-bearers and walker-pushers touring the floor while appraising some remarkable sights: pedestrians dressed in hospital gowns that tie loosely in back. (Enough to make any plumber blush.)  On the morning of Day Four, after examination by various medical staff and a visit by my surgeon, I was invited to check out at will, or stay another night. I chose to leave, although certainly there was no reason to flee the excellent, caring staff. A nurse/tech wheeled me down to the exit at about 3 p.m. and I slid gingerly into the car driven by my wife. A sheet illustrating mild exercises was provided by the physical therapy department. Within two days I received an at-home checkup by an RN from Visiting Nurses of New Jersey, followed by and initial visit by Barbara, the rehabilitation professional. She ran me through the hospital-provided exercises and added a few wrinkles. Given the choice between checking into a rehab facility (covered by insurance) or receiving home visits, I selected the latter. Most of the staff at the hospital felt that only very weak patients (with limited upper-body strength) need check into a live-in rehab center. It was wonderful waking up at home (guest bedroom) on the fifth morning. Barbara came by for a second visit this past Thursday, two weeks after the day of surgery. She upped the impact of the exercises by adding small ankle weights and including some new maneuvers. She plans to come back for a final session at the end of next week.  I have been doing the exercises faithfully, twice daily. Every day the hip, the knee, the calf and the ankle are more flexible. Pain is negligible.similar to a tired muscle ache here or there. I’ve been sleeping through the night except for one or two pit stops resulting from vastly increased water intake in compliance with doctors’ orders. The first day or two back home, I’d grab my cane and take two daily walks of three or four hundred yards. Now, 16 days after surgery, I navigate about a half-mile twice each day, carrying the cane like Gen. Patton’s baton.ready, just in case it’s needed. The hip feels no strain from the walks, but sometimes I’m left a little winded going uphill, having fallen badly out of shape from many sedentary pre-operative months.  They say the latest prosthetic hips are good for 20 years. I’m now 71, so put me down for a new hip in 2021 when I’ll be 91. My advice? If you are in good health, whatever your age, waste no more of your valuable time The pain of a severely arthritic hip robs you of too much of your precious time. Since joining the club, I’ve found myself in contact with friends, neighbors and two cousins (Bill, Mort, Marlene, Art. etc.) who have undergone joint replacement (hip or knee). They all vow their lives have been revitalized.  One final word. There are hundreds of thousands of joint replacement beneficiaries walking (rarely limping) the world’s avenues. It is said that such surgery is … read more »

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