Rwilliams26
new member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 2
I'm a 47 y/o male in North Georgia, and have been suffering from OA in my right hip for a few years. I think I could have probably "lived with the pain" for another few years before being forced to have the hip replaced, but chose instead to be a little more "preemptive" in the hopes that I'll be able to return to desired activity levels sooner (a 7 y/o son was an excellent motivation for me!).
After extensive research, I chose the relatively new Birmingham Resurfacing Procedure (BRP), which was done six days ago on February 22nd. The FDA approved BRP for use here in the United States early in 2006, so it's still quite new here...and still "relatively" new even in Europe, so there aren't a lot of longevity studies out there for this procedure. I do know it's growing VERY fast in popularity among men and women in their 30's, 40's and even 50's who are contemplating hip surgery....becuase...and this was the PRIMARY reason I chose it...BRP leaves far more original bone intact. Since (God willing) it was quitel likely that I would outlive whatever type of hip replacement hardware that would be installed, I opted to go for a procedure that would "allow" more adequately for a second operation on the same hip in several years.
Anyway, I underwent surgery on Thursday morning, February 22nd, and came home on Sunday afternoon. I had to negotiate a flight of stairs to our walk-out basement, but have been "shacking up" down here quite nicely for the past three days now. I had my first in-home physical therapy session yesterday...and it's all gone pretty well so far.
Birmingham Resurfacing is actually MORE invasive than a traditional THR procedure, results in a larger wound, an longer scar, and even a slightly longer recovery period, or so I'm told. My incision (did I spell that right?) is just over 10" long from top to bottom. I'm in SOME post-op discomfort, and still taking pain meds...but I'm planning to go back to work (1/2 days for awhile) after two more weeks of recovery time. I'll need to be driven, but I've got a desk job, so it shouldn't be too bad.
I've had some swelling in my right leg, and have had to keep it elevated as much as possible.
What I would LOVE is to hear from anyone else who has undergone a Birmingham Resurfacing...or chat with folks who are considering it. It will help my own recovery (and stem some of the BOREDOM) to talk about it here!
Ron in Georgia
After extensive research, I chose the relatively new Birmingham Resurfacing Procedure (BRP), which was done six days ago on February 22nd. The FDA approved BRP for use here in the United States early in 2006, so it's still quite new here...and still "relatively" new even in Europe, so there aren't a lot of longevity studies out there for this procedure. I do know it's growing VERY fast in popularity among men and women in their 30's, 40's and even 50's who are contemplating hip surgery....becuase...and this was the PRIMARY reason I chose it...BRP leaves far more original bone intact. Since (God willing) it was quitel likely that I would outlive whatever type of hip replacement hardware that would be installed, I opted to go for a procedure that would "allow" more adequately for a second operation on the same hip in several years.
Anyway, I underwent surgery on Thursday morning, February 22nd, and came home on Sunday afternoon. I had to negotiate a flight of stairs to our walk-out basement, but have been "shacking up" down here quite nicely for the past three days now. I had my first in-home physical therapy session yesterday...and it's all gone pretty well so far.
Birmingham Resurfacing is actually MORE invasive than a traditional THR procedure, results in a larger wound, an longer scar, and even a slightly longer recovery period, or so I'm told. My incision (did I spell that right?) is just over 10" long from top to bottom. I'm in SOME post-op discomfort, and still taking pain meds...but I'm planning to go back to work (1/2 days for awhile) after two more weeks of recovery time. I'll need to be driven, but I've got a desk job, so it shouldn't be too bad.
I've had some swelling in my right leg, and have had to keep it elevated as much as possible.
What I would LOVE is to hear from anyone else who has undergone a Birmingham Resurfacing...or chat with folks who are considering it. It will help my own recovery (and stem some of the BOREDOM) to talk about it here!
Ron in Georgia