Hip replacement

On November 28, 2005 I had a right hip replacement done by Dr. Eugene Schoch, probably the best and most experienced hip surgeon in Austin. He is an excellent doctor, very professional, and well staffed with professional assistants that you feel comfortable with.

Just so that I would have something to compare to, I had been seen by another orthopoedic surgeon in Austin who came recommended, but who, in my opinion was lacking in the professional conduct and testing that I observed in Dr. Schoch. Simply stated, I am comfortable with Dr. Schoch.

My experience at the post operative hospital, which I will leave nameless, was in general very pleasant. It is a very expensive hospital that deals with surgical patients only - thus reducing your exposure to outside infection. It is staffed with a very large staff of a mix of nurses, technicians, physical therapy specialists, etc. They were regularly making their rounds, often hourly, to take vital signs such as body temp, giving pain blocking medicine, taking blood pressure, and several other procedures. They were definitely not understaffed. However, I had one bad experience which could have been a catastrophe.

The nurses left me at 1 a.m. after taking my vitals, etc. and when they left, they had left both walkers (that were in my room) out of reach. It was only a few minutes after they left that I called on the intercom and said that I needed help in getting to the walker. No one came. I was under a lot of pressure as I had an emergency BM coming on. I leaned on a "serving" table next to my bed to get to the nearest walker. The table gave way throwing me off balance and I fell backwards against the bed, table, etc. I hung on to the walker, positioned myself in it and managed to get to the bathroom. I was sitting on the toilet a good 5 minutes before anyone arrived. They told me that they thought I said I could not reach the "water" when I said "walker". No, I'm not suing but I had some serious talks with doctor Schoch's assistant and the highest level hospital staff. This is a very upscale hospital that deals only in surgical patients. I insisted on an Xray and they took two, and I got copies of each.

I am posting a picture of the Xray and direct your attention to the spike that is driven into the femur with a hammer (you can see the femur on either side of the spike if you look hard), and also look at the screw that goes up from the ball socket into the hip.

Ken Lapham gets the credit for converting the Xray into a picture that I could post with this message.

Today is December 7th, and the walker is going to be part of my life for another few weeks. It is a painful procedure, and it also will test the patience of even a saint.

I have absolutely no regrets about getting it done.

More later,

Chas