Michele's Story

On-the-Go Realtor Refuses to Let Hip Pain Slow Her Down

Chronic pain in her right hip was not something Michele had time for, but it crept into her life a few years ago and gradually began limiting her mobility. “At first, I thought the problem was with my knee, but my internist took an x-ray and told me that the pain was from osteoarthritis in my right hip,” Michele says.

The pain soon began keeping Michele from participating in some of her favorite activities. “I like to be out and about, but I got to the point where I was only able to stand for about one and a half hours at a time,” she says. Simple actions, such as walking up and down stairs, bending over to touch her toes, and even getting dressed also became a problem for Michele, and she eventually needed to take prescription medication to sleep at night.

The pain also took a toll on Michele’s ability to do her job. Staying on her feet through an entire open house became almost impossible, and Michele says her clients often noticed her limping and wincing when she would meet them to show them a home.

Michele says a major turning point occurred when she and her family took a cruise to Alaska. “The rest of the family went on a walking tour of a town we stopped in, and I couldn’t go,” Michele says. “I felt like an old lady, and I was really upset that I wasn’t able to do a simple thing like walking around.”

Michele decided it was time to consider surgery and began seeking friends’ and family’s recommendations for doctors. A chance encounter with another realtor who had undergone hip replacement surgery with the Anterior Approach technique convinced Michele to learn more about the procedure.

The Anterior Approach is an innovative alternative surgical technique to traditional hip replacement surgery that allows a surgeon to approach the hip joint from the front, as opposed to the side or back. With this approach, a surgeon can work between the muscles without detaching them from the hip or thigh bones. As a result, these important muscles are left relatively undisturbed and are typically spared from a lengthy recovery process.

Michele says once she met with the surgeon, Joel Matta, MD, she decided to schedule an Anterior Approach hip replacement surgery with him. “I was completely confident that he should do the surgery,” Michele says.

A day after surgery, Michele says she was up and walking, and within 2 days, she was allowed to go home, albeit with some provisions. “I had someone stay with me for 2 days at home, but after that I was fine to be on my own,” Michele says.

Michele describes her recovery period as amazing. She initially experienced swelling in her right leg, which disappeared in about a week.

Within a week Michele was back at work, and in 2 weeks she was driving again. During this time, Michele began physical therapy to help regain some strength in her right leg because she had been relying on her left leg for so long. “The physical therapist was pleased by my progress,” Michele says.

Today, Michele says she has great freedom to move. “I’m amazed every day–sometimes, I just giggle to myself,” Michele says. “It truly is a miracle for me.”

Michele continues. “I struggled with the thought of surgery for so long, and after surgery and physical therapy–I was doing great. I was feeling old and cranky, and now I’m so happy I had the surgery.”

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.

About the Anterior Approach

The Anterior Approach for total hip replacement allows surgeons to work between the muscles, without detaching them from the hip or thigh bones. Because there is less tissue disruption, the recovery process may be shorter and less painful. Surgeons performing the procedure like Michele’s use an advanced surgical table that allows them to position the patient to easily access the hip from the front, and to insert the implant in a way that helps to minimize soft tissue disruption. The Anterior Approach is not appropriate for all patients. More information on the Anterior Approach is available at the link below, or by speaking with your surgeon.

Click here for more information on Anterior Approach Surgery.

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Register for a Free Hip Replacement Surgery Information Kit and an informational email series. These people have gotten back to the activities they enjoy, and you should too! Why not learn more about your options and what hip replacement could do for you? Click here to learn more.

Next: Karine’s Story