Hip replacement procedure involves less pain, recovery time Posted: Saturday, Apr 09, 2005 - 08:23:55 pm EDT By ALYESHA ASGHAR Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD - William Davidson has plans for this summer and he was not going to let hip replacement surgery get in their way.
"Less than a week after the surgery I am walking around the house for about an hour a day, exercising and doing regular physical therapy," Davidson said. "I have plans to hunt, fish and mow the grass this summer, and now all that seems very possible."
The active 69-year-old Beckley resident was the first in the region to undergo a revolutionary hip replacement procedure performed by Dr. Walid Azzo of Azzo Orthopedics in Bluefield. One of only four surgeons qualified to perform the surgery in West Virginia, Azzo was trained by Zimmer Corporation, the creator of the minimally invasive procedure.
"I was scheduled to go for the traditional surgery, but decided to cancel it after I read about the new procedure in a local newspaper," Davidson said. "I researched the '2-inch incision' hip procedure on the Internet and decided to choose the new operation mainly because of the quick recovery time."
After 2 1/2 hours in surgery and only two days in the hospital, Davidson was walking with the help of a cane a day after his surgery.
"I didn't take any painkillers while I was in the hospital and haven't had any since I left," Davidson said.
When performing the procedure, the surgeon makes two incisions as small as 2 inches each, and generally separates the muscles and tendons to access the hip joint. Comparatively, traditional surgery involves a 10- to 12-inch incision and the cutting of the muscles and tendons, according to Zimmer Corporation literature.
"In this procedure, we also use an X-ray to guide us in performing the operation, which makes it a great deal more exact," Azzo said. "But the highlight of this operation is the greatly reduced risk of dislocation of the hip after the procedure compared to the traditional operation."
Surgeons usually caution their patients against too much activity following a hip-replacement procedure. But Azzo said the new technique preserves the muscular wrapping and lets patients do whatever they want after the operation.
The procedure costs the same as the traditional approach, but involves less pain and recovery time, Azzo said.
"Mr. Davidson was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and was in a great deal of pain before the surgery," Azzo said. "However, the procedure went very, very well and now he is well on his way to a healthy and active life."
