Patient Stories
Sutter Orthopaedic Institute
New Leash on Life
As Vacaville resident Connie Schilling reached for the leash, her shepherd-husky mix, Molly, jumped for joy. Connie clicked the leash on Mollie’s collar and they went out the front door. While Molly wagged her tail in doggy happiness, Connie grimaced and limped. The pain in her right hip was excruciating. It was harder and harder every day to walk with Molly.
"It felt like a rod being jammed in my pelvis," said Connie. "At first I felt pain once in a while but as the months went on it became a continuous stabbing pain whenever I walked or moved around. "
A visit to her family medicine physician provided a referral to an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed a congenital hip deformity. This deformity created a bone spur that grated on Connie’s hip bones causing severe pain. A total hip replacement, usually performed on arthritic or degenerative bones, would solve the problem. However, since Connie did not suffer from osteoarthritis in her hip and due to her young age of 51 years, the surgeon recommended hip resurfacing instead of a full hip replacement.
Unable to find an orthopedic surgeon experienced in hip resurfacing in the Vacaville area, her physician referred her to orthopedic surgeon David Gotham, D.O., with Sutter Roseville Medical Center, some 50 miles away.
Dr. Gotham is among the first surgeons in the Roseville area to provide hip resurfacing to patients in lieu of total joint replacement. Rather than replacing the entire hip joint, hip resurfacing simply shaves and caps a few centimeters of bone within the joint.
This procedure is a bone-conserving approach that preserves more of the patient’s natural bone structures and stability, covering the joint’s surfaces with an all-metal implant that more closely resembles a tooth cap than a hip implant. This approach reduces the post-operative risks of dislocation and inaccurate leg length, and because the all-metal implant is made from tough, smooth cobalt chrome, it has the potential to last longer than traditional hip implants.
Connie underwent the hip resurfacing procedure on December 16 and says upon awaking from the surgery the agonizing pain she had been feeling beforehand was completely gone. "Of course I had pain from the surgical incision, but that deep internal pain in my hip had totally disappeared," she said. "It was amazing. "
Total hip replacement involves the removal of the entire femoral head and neck. The resurfacing technique, however, leaves the head and neck untouched.
"I see hip resurfacing as the ideal solution for many of my young, active patients who suffer from hip pain," said Dr. Gotham. "As my patients are getting younger and younger, and are staying physically active much later in life, this alternative to total hip replacement accommodates their age and lifestyle. "
Connie’s husband, John, walked Molly while Connie recuperated from the hip resurfacing procedure and underwent physical therapy. During this time Molly would turn her eyes, one blue and one brown, toward Connie as if to say, "C’mon! We’re going for a walk!"
These days Connie and Molly are both happy to be walking together again. Molly practically leaps along and Connie keeps up. "Hip resurfacing is a wonderful procedure," she said. "I feel great, I’m so much better than before. "
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