Comments: I would like to preface my remarks by stating that I am a dentist, 75 years old, who has been in practice for 51 years. Several years ago I was diagnosed with arthritis of my right hip and told I would need hip replacement when the pain and discomfort became intolerable. I was forced to stop playing tennis and couldn’t even have a baseball catch with my 10 year old grandson. Any physical activity was just too painful.
Having reached the decision to finally proceed with a hip replacement, I had already selected and had a consultation with an orthopaedist who had been highly recommended to me by a number of people, including my colleagues. They had all had the conventional method of hip surgery done, with at least 2-4 month period of recuperation.
At that point my daughter called to tell me that she had been told of a different technique called anterior hip replacement that was being done by a small group of orthopaedists. The technique offered a number of advantages when compared with the conventional method. She convinced me to go for a consultation to the NYU Langone’s Hospital for Joint Diseases and to speak with Dr. Roy Davidovitch, an orthopaedic surgeon who had trained for several years with Dr. Joel Matta, a surgeon from California, who introduced the technique in the U.S. more than two decades ago, and who also helped design a special table to simplify the procedure.
I spent one hour of consultation with Dr. Davidovitch and found him to be understanding, very personable and extremely informative. I was told that the surgery was minimally invasive with no major muscles cut, with a shorter hospital stay, smaller incision, less trauma to muscles, less pain and blood loss, reduced risk of dislocation after surgery, faster healing and a quicker return to normal activities. At the end of that appointment I immediately scheduled my surgery for the anterior hip replacement procedure and as I write this narrative it has been one year since the surgery was done and all these predictions have become reality.
On the morning of surgery, Dr. Davidovitch visited with me, and assured me that all would go well. I then walked(limped) down the hallway to the room where the surgery was performed, was greeted warmly by the surgical team, seated and was under anaesthesia in about 10 seconds.
The next thing I remember was being in the recovery room where my wife greeted me. The numbness in my legs gradually disappeared and I was pleased to realize that I wasn’t in any pain, nor was I to be at any other time, both in the hospital and back at my home thanks to the surgery and my postoperative care at NYU.
The following day after breakfast my therapy nurse arrived and I was told to begin walking with the aid of a walker. I immediately got out of bed and walked up and down the hallway and up and down a flight of stairs with no pain. I repeated this in the afternoon. By the following day after therapy I was told that I would be going home that afternoon – 2 days after checking into the hospital for my surgery. My attending nurse and physician had already made arrangements for me to start my physical therapy at home and I met with a Home Health Agency representative who made arrangement for me to begin my home therapy the very next day.
My roommate, a man in his 30′s at the hospital had undergone conventional hip surgery several days before I had and was still unable to walk across the room by the time I was leaving for home.
The following day I started my home therapy and my therapist was amazed at the progress I was making so quickly after surgery. She told me that I would be ready for my outpatient therapy at the Kessler Rehabilitation Center by the end of the following week, and would no longer need her services. At that point I was already walking 1 mile daily and doing all of my home exercises on my own daily. My wife was an invaluable help in all of my recuperation procedures. By my third week home I was doing both outpatient and at-home therapy and was able to drive.
After 4-1/2 weeks I returned to work at my office while continuing my outpatient therapy 3 afternoons a week and gradually increased my work hours until I was on a full time schedule after 6 weeks.
I now lead a completely normal and active life with absolutely no restrictions and am forever grateful for the skill and personal concern that has been shown to me by Dr. Davidovitch and his excellent staff. I unequivocally recommend this procedure and especially advise person seeking the surgery to make an appointment with Dr. Davidovitch.
Having reached the decision to finally proceed with a hip replacement, I had already selected and had a consultation with an orthopaedist who had been highly recommended to me by a number of people, including my colleagues. They had all had the conventional method of hip surgery done, with at least 2-4 month period of recuperation.
At that point my daughter called to tell me that she had been told of a different technique called anterior hip replacement that was being done by a small group of orthopaedists. The technique offered a number of advantages when compared with the conventional method. She convinced me to go for a consultation to the NYU Langone’s Hospital for Joint Diseases and to speak with Dr. Roy Davidovitch, an orthopaedic surgeon who had trained for several years with Dr. Joel Matta, a surgeon from California, who introduced the technique in the U.S. more than two decades ago, and who also helped design a special table to simplify the procedure.
I spent one hour of consultation with Dr. Davidovitch and found him to be understanding, very personable and extremely informative. I was told that the surgery was minimally invasive with no major muscles cut, with a shorter hospital stay, smaller incision, less trauma to muscles, less pain and blood loss, reduced risk of dislocation after surgery, faster healing and a quicker return to normal activities. At the end of that appointment I immediately scheduled my surgery for the anterior hip replacement procedure and as I write this narrative it has been one year since the surgery was done and all these predictions have become reality.
On the morning of surgery, Dr. Davidovitch visited with me, and assured me that all would go well. I then walked(limped) down the hallway to the room where the surgery was performed, was greeted warmly by the surgical team, seated and was under anaesthesia in about 10 seconds.
The next thing I remember was being in the recovery room where my wife greeted me. The numbness in my legs gradually disappeared and I was pleased to realize that I wasn’t in any pain, nor was I to be at any other time, both in the hospital and back at my home thanks to the surgery and my postoperative care at NYU.
The following day after breakfast my therapy nurse arrived and I was told to begin walking with the aid of a walker. I immediately got out of bed and walked up and down the hallway and up and down a flight of stairs with no pain. I repeated this in the afternoon. By the following day after therapy I was told that I would be going home that afternoon – 2 days after checking into the hospital for my surgery. My attending nurse and physician had already made arrangements for me to start my physical therapy at home and I met with a Home Health Agency representative who made arrangement for me to begin my home therapy the very next day.
My roommate, a man in his 30′s at the hospital had undergone conventional hip surgery several days before I had and was still unable to walk across the room by the time I was leaving for home.
The following day I started my home therapy and my therapist was amazed at the progress I was making so quickly after surgery. She told me that I would be ready for my outpatient therapy at the Kessler Rehabilitation Center by the end of the following week, and would no longer need her services. At that point I was already walking 1 mile daily and doing all of my home exercises on my own daily. My wife was an invaluable help in all of my recuperation procedures. By my third week home I was doing both outpatient and at-home therapy and was able to drive.
After 4-1/2 weeks I returned to work at my office while continuing my outpatient therapy 3 afternoons a week and gradually increased my work hours until I was on a full time schedule after 6 weeks.
I now lead a completely normal and active life with absolutely no restrictions and am forever grateful for the skill and personal concern that has been shown to me by Dr. Davidovitch and his excellent staff. I unequivocally recommend this procedure and especially advise person seeking the surgery to make an appointment with Dr. Davidovitch.
With great appreciation