Fast Recovery After Anterior Hip Replacement
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Those aches and pains that you feel after working out could be more than just a nagging injury. They may be a sign of a more serious problem. But a non-traditional hip surgery can get you back up and running.
"I didn't have an accident, I just had arthritis in my hip," said Robert Wendel.
Life for Wendel was getting difficult. "I was having some pain going up and down stairs, walking. People were telling me I had a limp and I didn't realize it," he said. "I couldn't put my sock on without having pain."
Traditional hip replacement surgery works from the side of the hip. It is more likely to lead to dislocation and it takes longer to heal. But Wendel opted for anterior hip replacement surgery, which is far less invasive.
"We're able to work through a natural window in the front of the hip and avoid cutting muscles and tendons," explained Dr. Steven Sanders with Irving Orthopedics & Sports Medicine at Baylor Medical Center.
After the anterior hip replacement surgery, patients typically walk without assistance within a week or two, as opposed to four to six weeks after a traditional hip replacement surgery.
"I was really surprised. I thought that after a major operation, and having a part of the bone taken out and a titanium hip put in, that I would be bedridden for at least a week or whatever. But they had me up immediately," Wendel said. "I was on a walker for a week,and then a cane for three days, and then I was up walking on my own."
With physical therapy and a little assistance, Wendel is now as good as new. The pain of arthritis is gone, and he has a better range of motion than he did before. "I was up playing golf yesterday," Wendel said. "I played 18 holes, didn't have any pain at all. A little rusty, but I'm getting my game back."
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