I would like to tell you about my experience with my hip replacement. First, I want to explain what shape I was in prior to making my decision. I was 55 years old with four children ages 5 to 14. I was very active snow skiing, hiking, and water skiing. I am in sales and I drive 100 to 200 miles a day. I had lower back issues for many years with trips to the chiropractor, ice, and Advil. I had got to a point that, for a lack of a better description, my right side froze. I had constant pain, could not sleep, and had to roll myself out of the car at the end of the day. Being exhausted every night was not something I was used to or could get away with. I finally listened to my wife and went to see my primary doctor. After an x-ray the doctor asked if I had ever done anything to my hips and suggested I get an orthopedic consultation. A good family friend, Dr. Kelton Burbank, saw me and, without a beat, he told me I needed not one, but two new hips. It was genetic and basically bone on bone.
Dr. Burbank said some physical therapy would help greatly in getting my range of motion and strengthen my muscle. This, he said, was not a waste of time as strengthening would be beneficial if I chose to have my hips replaced as well as give me some quick relief of the pain. He also went over the different ways of getting my hips done if I made that choice. At physical therapy, I heard about Dr. Christopher Vinton and the success he had with the anterior approach for hip replacement. I actually had a friend that was at physical therapy the same time I was and just had Dr. Vinton. He had nothing but positive things to say. Having another friend who also just went thru a hip replacement in Boston, I had some insight on the other approach. Since Dr. Vinton was right in Worcester, the convenience made him my first visit to talk about my options. Based on his advice and reading on the web the different ways to have my hip done, one variable stood out, cut muscle or not cut muscle. I made my decision.
Dr. Vinton replaced my right hip in June of 2014. I was shocked at the quick recovery and was able to ski very comfortably that winter. Since I knew how great the results were, I decided to have my left hip replaced in April of 2015. I was able to waterski that summer and my life is back to where I want it to be – free of pain and physically able to do whatever I want.
From the first meeting to now, having both hips replaced, Dr. Vinton and his staff have been there literally every step of the way. From Dr. Vinton’s visit with his son on a Sunday morning to check in on me at the hospital, to calling me at home two weeks after surgery, he gave me the peace of mind that I was in the right hands. My recovery was quick with being back on my feet in two weeks and back at work full-time within a month.
I cannot even imagined what I would be like if I had not found Dr. Vinton and his staff. I look back over the years of being in pain that I thought was due to my lower back when my problem really was due to my hips. Some say you should wait on hips, but I strongly feel that this is due more to the posterior and lateral approach with the cutting of muscle. Common sense tells me I made the right choice with the right doctor and I would highly recommend him. My quality of life has changed dramatically thanks to Dr. Vinton.