Hardware Successfully Removed

So, it wasn't quite as "no big deal" as they lead us to believe, but relatively painless. We arrived at Norton's Brownsboro Hosptial at 12:00. They had planned for us to be there at 11am, and begin at 1:00pm, but then called that morning to tell us not to come in until 12 and that the procedure would begin at 2:00pm. I asked, "So, he's still not supposed to eat or drink anything all day, and you aren't starting until 2?" "Yes." 

At 12:00 we arrived at the hospital and they checked us in. After he had changed clothes, gotten an IV started, and relaxed, they came in to say that the doctor was way behind. We watched tv for awhile, and after what seemed like forever, they came in to tell us that it wouldn't start until 3pm. 

At 2:30 they came in and gave me a certificate for a free lunch downstairs and insisted I go eat something, as I hadn't had anything all day either (except for some little snacks I had in my bag) so off I went.

When I returned it was 3:00 and they said, "the doctor just began the previous procedure." Sam finally, started calling all the karate students and telling them, "No, we aren't having class tonight." The theory was that we'd be out by 4pm and then by 7:00 he could at least ride over to church with me and let someone else teach.

The funniest part was that he was still on the phone with a student when the nurse gave him the "relax yourself into a deep sleep" drug and she had to tell him to tell the student, "Time is up Chatty Kathy. Sam's going to sleep." 

Finally at 3:30pm they took him away.

This picture shows the monitor in the waiting room. If you look at the top line ID#3202, you can see the "Cut/Start" Time is 3:43pm.

This picture is when the time switched to "Close/End" and the time is 3:52pm. Funny considering it still shows the surgery time as "2:00pm". 

The doctor came out minutes later and said, "Everything went great. He has no restrictions. He won't want to go right back to kicking, maybe wait 2 weeks, but otherwise, do whatever you feel like you need to."

I asked about the crutches they'd told us to bring, and the doctor looked startled. He said absolutely no need. Then he said, "Well, they'll push him out to the car in a wheelchair when he leaves here, but it might help to have the crutches when he gets out of the car, just because it will hurt a little."

Here are the screws! In the picture, you can see the big one, it's about 4 inches long! Amazing huh? 

They had to be put into a baking oven that sterilizes them before we could take them home. I explained to the doctor that our 5 year old wanted to see them. They all thought that was funny. The nurse said, "At first I was like, 'What kind of weirdo is this guy who wants his hardware back?' then someone said, 'Its for his 5 year old son.' and I was like, 'Actually that makes perfect sense!' " 

They also all really enjoyed the fact that Sam had initially intended to teach karate at 7, as we were leaving the hospital at about 6pm, him more or less asleep!

Here he is awake finally! This was the terrific picture I sent off to our families so they'd know he was up and saying "cheese". If it gives you any indication of how long he had been awake, check out all the heart monitors and blood pressure cuff that are still attached.....

Screws Coming Out!

Sam is Officially having the screws removed from his hip next week!

More info on how that goes later!

They say it's very simple: A small incision, they back the screws out, sew you up!

We'll see........

You can see them in the XRay below!

Free and Clear!

Sam went back to the surgeon on February 17th!

His XRay showed his hip is totally healed now!

Dr. Y told him he could jump, run, flip, kick, or jump out of an airplane if he wanted.

He was also released from physical therapy a week before that, so, looks like it's really over!

There will be one follow up, just to double check everything at the end of the year, Oct. 6th, 2009. This will be 1 year from the surgery.

Three Weeks In, Three Weeks Out

We went to back to see Dr. Yerasimides for the three week visit on Tuesday, 10/28/08.

The first thing they did was to take another X-ray. The first one they had Sam laying down, but the second was supposed to be on his side. Since he is still not able to do that easily, he was asked to stand up instead. When these were done, we waited in room 2 for the doctor.

Dr. Yerasimides told Sam that everything looked great! We had been warned in the hospital that there was a slight risk that the bones may not stay where they had been altered, so we were relieved to see everything better than it had been before the surgery.

Sam was told although he is welcome to try going back to work right away, it would probably be best to wait until the official follow up visit, which will be in 3 more weeks. Sam agreed that this made sense.

So, we are 3 weeks In from the surgery, but still, 3 weeks Out from being cleared.

Here are photos of the new X-rays:

Rehabilitation Underway

Sam had a rough first two days, but today he was up on crutches walking around the Joint Care Physical Therapy Camp!


More Later! Check www.samandmaryconverfamily.blogspot.com for pictures!

Joint Repaired

The Surgery went exactly according to plan, and aside from the procedure taking an hour longer than intended, it has been a good experience so far.

For more information, see this site, where we are updating daily:

www.samandmaryconverfamily.blogspot.com

Periacetabular Osteotomy

Are you limping?

I get that question a lot these days. Yes I am limping, and chances are I didn’t know I was until you asked. Very gradually I have begun to limp more and more, first because there was a problem in my hip that I was not fully aware of, then more and more as pain has become more pronounced each week.

As it turns out I have a displaced, or shallow hip, from birth, that until recently has done very little to deter me from being very active. The martial arts and weight training have kept the joint from becoming arthritic, and the muscles around the hip joint have been strong enough to stabilize the joint. Time has caught up to me however, and I am finding my day ending with hip pain more and more.

I always struggled with my flexibility. No matter how hard I tried for a full range of flexibility, I could never press past a certain point. I tried the stretching machines, sitting in the butterfly position and having training partners stand on my legs to force them down toward the floor, and steady consistent periods of intense stretching exercises. Something in my hip always pulled back. I have never been able to sit crossed legged and there was always a great disparity between my right and lift legs when kicking.

There is good news. A new procedure can correct this problem now. The only option in the past has been a full hip replacement, even for a young active person. There are only a few doctors trained in this new procedure, but one of them is in Louisville, and he has agreed to fix my hip.

The surgery is called a periacetabular osteotomy, PAO for short. Peri, or around the Acetabulum, and osteotomy means to cut bone. The hip is cut in two places and shifted in such a manner so that the top of the femur bone is fully covered. Then the hip is bolted into the new position and it heals into the corrected shape. The result is a hip that functions normally, is a stable weight bearing structure, and has the full degree of motion of a normal healthy hip. Best of all, the steady aching pain will be gone, and I can keep all my own parts

Surgery date is Wednesday Oct. 8th
Below is a diagram of the process and my own x rays.

Side view