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Malene's story
“I’m Not Too Young for Hip Replacement!”An active resident of Washington State, Malene loves spending time in the great outdoors with family and friends. Some of her favorite activities include water sports, bicycling and hiking, so she was dismayed when excruciating pain in her right hip began slowing her down in her early thirties. As an employee of Pacific Orthopaedics, Inc., a distributor of DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. products, Malene was quite familiar with joint replacement options. However, over the course of 11 years, four separate doctors told Malene she was too young to consider hip replacement. So Malene tried to manage her situation as best she could. Eventually, the pain progressed to the point where Malene couldn’t perform even the simplest of tasks, let alone biking or hiking. She needed her husband, Joe, to put on her socks and shoes because she couldn’t bend down. She found herself leaning on her 11-year-old daughter, Amber, in order to walk. She couldn’t even go to the grocery store alone for fear that she couldn’t get in and out of the car. Malene says her condition put a severe strain on her relationship with her family, causing her to feel like she wasn’t the same person anymore. “I was a very independent woman who became very dependent on others to do the simplest things,” says Malene. Finally, after 11 years of coping with increasingly unbearable pain, Malene found hope in the form of a new doctor. “The day I met my orthopaedic surgeon was the day from which I measured my new life,” Malene recalls. Upon meeting with the doctor, Malene was shocked to discover that her left hip also needed to be replaced — her right hip caused her so much pain that she hadn’t been aware of any problems on her other side. After consulting an orthopaedic surgeon, they agreed that the Anterior Approach to hip replacement was the right choice for Malene. Unlike traditional hip replacement surgery, which requires a surgeon to cut major muscles and tissues, the Anterior Approach allows a surgeon to work between the muscles and tissues without detaching them from either the hip or thighbones, potentially reducing the time for recovery. Malene’s right hip was replaced first, followed by her left hip four months later. For both of Malene’s hip replacements, her orthopaedic surgeon chose Pinnacle® Hip Solutions with TrueGlide™ technology, which is designed by DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. One study conducted since the device was approved in 2002 observed that an estimated 99.9% of Pinnacle hip components remain in use.1 Only Pinnacle Hip Solutions feature TrueGlide™ technology, allowing the body to create a thin film of lubrication between surfaces. The result is a more fluid range of natural motion that more closely matches the feeling and movement of a natural hip. After both operations, Malene was up and walking the same day. She was out of the hospital the next day and walking without a cane seven days later. Today, Malene is more active than ever. She rides 25 miles a week on her bike, takes dance lessons and weight trains twice a week. Most importantly, her love of life has returned. “At DePuy, we talk about the ‘Joy of Motion,’ but that idea didn’t make as much sense to me before the surgery as it does now,” Malene says. “I am truly experiencing joy for the first time in over a decade.” In April, Malene and her husband held a reception in celebration of their wedding the previous year. The two took dance lessons and performed an elaborate routine in front of their family and friends, including a dramatic dip at the end. “I couldn’t have dreamed of doing that before my hip replacement,” Malene says. “I feel so blessed to have my mobility restored.” Malene’s story may not be typical. The performance of a hip replacement depends on your age, weight, activity level and other factors. There are potential risks, and recovery takes time. People with conditions limiting rehabilitation should not have this surgery. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can tell if hip replacement is right for you.
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