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What a mess AlasSouth! In the early days of joint replacements there were some pretty bad devices. What disturbs me though was that your doctor discounted your pain? or uncomfortableness. I had been seeing a doctor about lower back pain for a couple years and got physical therapy but it didn't help that much. One day I went to the doctor and saw a woman intern. When I described my pain to her she had X-rays taken of my pelvis. The cartilage was gone and the ball in the hip joint was half worn away. She scheduled me for a total hip replacement a month out. By the time I had the surgery I was in a wheelchair.
I had the replacement in 2000 and it's still doing well. I asked the surgeon how many of those operations he'd done. He said he did 356 a year. He was really good! But can you imagine sawing a leg bone at least once a day for a year? Whoa!!! He retired in 2001. My hip joint is ceramic and metal and a metal rod goes part way down through my thigh bone. I wonder what that does to the marrow? Since I was getting financial aid help from the University of New Mexico Hospital health plan, they didn't give me any rehabilitation. Just some sheets of paper showing how to do the exercises. I religiously did the exercises and almost to the day one year from the surgery I was suddenly aware that I had no pain and felt better than I had for a few years. I have had some bursitis a couple times in the last five years, but feel like that's okay; the surgeon didn't expect the replacement to last over 15 years. I have it X-rayed every two years.A friend of mine wasn't so lucky. She had the first one redone two more times before it worked and she was in her 70s. My mother had one in her 70s also but did okay. I wonder what is the key element or elements that makes these operations successful?
Do you know the name of the device that went into your knee? What is the success rate?
I had the replacement in 2000 and it's still doing well. I asked the surgeon how many of those operations he'd done. He said he did 356 a year. He was really good! But can you imagine sawing a leg bone at least once a day for a year? Whoa!!! He retired in 2001. My hip joint is ceramic and metal and a metal rod goes part way down through my thigh bone. I wonder what that does to the marrow? Since I was getting financial aid help from the University of New Mexico Hospital health plan, they didn't give me any rehabilitation. Just some sheets of paper showing how to do the exercises. I religiously did the exercises and almost to the day one year from the surgery I was suddenly aware that I had no pain and felt better than I had for a few years. I have had some bursitis a couple times in the last five years, but feel like that's okay; the surgeon didn't expect the replacement to last over 15 years. I have it X-rayed every two years.A friend of mine wasn't so lucky. She had the first one redone two more times before it worked and she was in her 70s. My mother had one in her 70s also but did okay. I wonder what is the key element or elements that makes these operations successful?
Do you know the name of the device that went into your knee? What is the success rate?
