jillhq--questions about SuperPath

[jillhq]

Hello @Jamie and @Was_86. Thank you for comments again. I am hoping quicker than 6 weeks but that seems to be standard no matter which approach. I had posterior 7 years ago of my right hip and was back driving, teaching a few classes and felt pretty good from what I remember. This time though I am told that the Anterior heals quicker and I won't have the same restrictions as Posterior. I do leg squats and leg raises double leg lifts and more in the Pilates and Yoga I teach daily, so I am hoping my muscles are still strong!! I hope your legs feel better today Was_86. Thank you

 

[jillhq]

Hi @Me2 . You sound great and glad to hear that you can dance a little. The SuperPath here is a very small incision in the side of the hip and the procedure is all done with micro surgery and x-rays to see if all is fitting correctly. I have heard there is some failure with this and that is the stem and cup do not always fit as well as other procedures. For now I am pleased I have chosen Anterior with a very experienced and highly respected doctor.

 

[Jamie]

SuperPATH seems to show a lot of promise, but it is still a new approach that must be done by a surgeon who is very skilled in the process. We've had some members do amazingly well afterwards here on BoneSmart. But it's still not widely done, and if a person is considering it, it is essential that the surgeon has a lot of experience and success with the procedure.

 

[jillhq]

Hi @Jamie. Yes I agree SuperPath looks fabulous in theory but as the surgeon here in Sydney has only done 70 and the 3 people I saw 4 weeks post op had limps this concerned me so I have gone with the surgeon who not only does all types of replacements he is a professor who lectures as well as part of the design team for the actual replacement components. I watched a Vimeo of the surgery last night by him and it was amazing. If anyone is interested it is Dr Bill Walter broken link removed: https://www.billwalter.com and through this site there is a 17 minute Vimeo of him doing an Anterior Approach Replacement. There is also a full Anterior surgery done by Dr Firestone in the USA as well on another site. Thank you for your replies.

 

[Me2]

You earlier asked about numbness down side of thigh. From my anterior surgery in April, I still have some very deep numbness about 2 inch by 5 inch mid-thigh . I keep hearing that nerves take a very long time and still possibility of recovering more feeling. Sometimes it feels annoying, sometimes not. I can feel touch on the skin but not in the muscle. I remember the day I woke up and could feel the bed under my leg. Very exciting morning! LOL

 

[sissy46]

Hi there! I had left THR two years ago, and I couldn't have had better results. My surgeon had done many, many hip replacements, but had only done about 50 anterior approaches. I think he was, wisely, selecting his patients carefully for this approach---he wanted patients who were in good shape, thin, active, etc. He has since done THR on two of my friends, also anterior approach, also with excellent results. I was driving at 1 week, kayaking at 4 weeks, riding my bike at 5 weeks. Not aggressively, but hey, I was out there, and felt I had my life back PDQ. I look back and still appreciate that I was able to go home to my 2nd floor condo, didn't have any restrictions, no tall toilet or any of that.
You are 20 years younger than I was, and I bet you'll do just great, too.

 

[Josephine]

I did a lot of study into the surgical technique when we first had it brought to our attention. As a result, we now have a page on bonesmart.org about broken link removed: https://www.superpathhiptechnique.com/patients/?sponsor=microport. I think it's very clever and innovative procedure BUTU it's also very new and needs to be approached with caution. When the direct anterior first came out it caused a stir but in the early days there were lots of alignment issues about it and for the longest time, it had a bad name. I think the innovators of this procedure have learned from history and taken steps not to fall into those traps.

But the thing I like about it above all is that there is an emphasis on being careful with retractors and other instruments to avoid stressing and /or traumatising the tissues which I have always believed to be the principal factor in post-op pain. It's clear that the more pain a patient has after surgery, the more likely the surgeon or his assistants have been unnecessarily rough during it.

So what does this mean? Essentially that you can have the same immediate results from any approach provided the surgeon is gentle and fast in the execution of it. And that's for definite.