Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fifteen Weeks and my chat with Dr. Mayo

First, to avoid any unnecessary suspense, my left PAO is now confirmed for November 18th. My right leg is healing well. I am walking OK ("gets better as I get going" says Dr. Mayo), my strength and ROM are good, and the x-rays look OK.

I am also cleared to skate. If I fall on my hip it will hurt. A lot. More than before. But I won't do any damage to his work. He just said to take it easy and build up my muscles over time.

Dr. Mayo is very quotable. Below is what he said about my left hip. Note that my left hip's dysplasia is just as bad as that of my right hip, but it doesn't hurt as much. This isn't a direct quote, just a paraphrase:

"Normally I would not operate on a hip that isn't fully symptomatic. We'd just watch it and see. However, your dysplasia is so severe that it's only a matter of time. Studies have shown that the best long-term PAO success happens for people who had the least arthritis to begin with. So it's best to do it as early as you can."

Sign me up.

2 comments:

Jen said...

Good quote, and something I have thought about when contemplating LPAO. I will probably have mine done next summer. Might as well get it over with before the bad and the ugly happen!

Louisa B said...

Makes total sense, applies to FAI too, sounds the way to go to me, if nothing else symmetry is always good!