Trying to Stay Hip

“The hardest thing I had to do every day was wake up and put my sock on my right foot,” expressed Albert Delaney, better known as Al, a hip replacement patient of North Oaks orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vince Lands.

Al suffered from excruciating pain stemming from his right hip for years, but convinced himself it was nothing to worry about. After simple, daily tasks, such as washing his right foot and putting his sock on became the most difficult part of his day, he finally decided to see his North Oaks primary care physician, Dr. William Plunkett, who referred him to Dr. Lands for further evaluation.

At the time, Al was an avid believer in “staying in one piece,” so when Dr. Lands explained that his hip needed to be replaced, Al was not fond of the idea.

“I’m one of these people that believes that I came in one piece and so I want to leave in one piece, so I opted out to have the surgery at first. I asked Dr. Lands if there was anything else I could do to help with the pain in which he responded that he could give me some medication to help curve it, but I was going to have to have the hip replaced eventually,” Al noted.

After an additional year of excruciating pain, Al became fed up with putting his life on pause due to his hip pain and decided to go back to Dr. Lands to schedule his surgery as soon as possible. Dr. Lands explained how the procedure would work and calmed Al’s concerns about the surgery.

“Many patients, like Al, put off surgery for a number of reasons, however, one of the most common reasons that I find is fear. Hip replacement techniques nowadays allow patients to leave with minimal restrictions post-surgery. In this case, Al was able to start doing his daily routine again, but without the constant struggle. A well performed hip replacement surgery can not only relieve your pain, but change your quality of life allowing you to do all those things that you have avoided for years,” Dr. Lands commented.

When Al woke up from his procedure, he was astonished by how he felt. Within an hour of his operation, he was walking up and down the hospital hallways with the aid of a walker and could not believe what Dr. Lands had accomplished.

“Dr. Lands was just unbelievable. Everything he explained to me happened just as he said it would. The whole experience was amazing and overall painless. Sure, there was some swelling from the operation, but other than that, no discomfort at all at no point in time,” exclaimed Al.

“It was an eye-opening experience and I would recommend this hospital and Dr. Lands to anyone,” Al preached.

For more information about joint care or to schedule an appointment with North Oaks Orthopaedic Specialty Center, call (985) 275-9052 or visit www.northoaks.org/jointcare.