I had my right hip replaced 5-1/2 years ago with a Smith & Nephew device when I was 51 years old. It was the best thing I ever did. I lived with severe pain for about 3 years even with heavy duty anti-inflammatorys. The side effects from the meds was possible kidney and liver damage. That is what made me finally decide on the surgery. I felt it was better to have hip replacement than an organ transplant.
Everyone who is thinking about hip replacement asks me about my hip replacement, I tell them to educate yourself about the actual device, the procedure and the doctor. Will the device be metal on metal or plastic on metal? Is the device a THR (total hip replacement) or Hip Resurfacing? What is the surgical approach .. anterior or posterior? The most important question I would ask NOW and not the day of the surgery is, "how many of these procedures have you done"? I went to three surgeons before I decided on my doctor. I was his 452nd procedure, with my doctor being trained at Smith & Nephew on my specific device. As of this post my surgeon has performed 1950 procedures using a Smith & Nephew device.
I also chose my doctor based on his specialty of only performing hip and knee replacement. Two other surgeons I went to were general Ortho surgeons who claimed "they could do anything". My surgeon only operated at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in NYC where I recovered on a floor with only hip and knee replacement patients. The entire staff was dedicated to hip/knee patients, where a general hospital has patients on the same floor with various other non-ortho needs. I was fortunate to live about 40 miles outside of NYC where there are many highly specialized surgeons and specialty hospitals.
The actual surgery only took 45 minutes. After the surgery I was out of bed and walking about 15 hours later. Did I have some pain? Yes, but it was very well managed by pain doctors. During my recovery at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, I was taken one flight down to the famed Rusk Rehabilitation Institute prior to discharge for training in the proper use of crutches, bathroom use, kitchen use and getting in/out of a car while recovering from the surgery. After my discharge from the hospital, I did physical therapy for about 4 weeks, back driving in 2 weeks and back to work in 4 weeks.
At 3 months post-op I built a large shed in my backyard with my wife yelling at me to be careful while I was up on the roof nailing down the shingles.
If I was told that my left hip needed to be replaced, I'd call my doctor tomorrow and schedule the surgery.
