Laura Ramirez has spent much of her life taking care of others like her husband, who has a spinal cord injury from a car accident years ago. The mother of two now grown boys has always nurtured her family. But when it comes to taking care of herself, the 56-year-old admits she has brushed off the aches and pains. "Probably about five years ago, I started to notice something was a little off."
It turns out she had a worn out hip. The discomfort and limited mobility finally landed her at the Reno Orthopaedic Clinic. "I was very surprised when they told me that I was post-arthritic! I have zero cartilage left." Laura is getting a total hip replacement. What makes her surgery unique is that it is an outpatient procedure being performed at the ROC’s Surgery Center. "I'm going to be doing physical therapy today after surgery. It's amazing!"
"So this is all the resurfaced cup and this is the new ball for the ball and socket joint,” explains Dr. Jackson Jones, who is Laura’s Orthopaedic Surgeon. “They just go together like that.” Dr. Jones invited us in for surgery where he uses the anterior approach; it means he works between the muscles and tissues by going in on the front of the hip - as opposed to the side or back. "The incision itself is 10 centimeters." By cutting less tissue, Laura will recover faster.
Same-day total hip replacements have been done in hospitals for years, but Dr. Jones is quick to point out the benefits of doing it at the ROC. "When we found all the reasons to stay in the hospital, we got them taken care of. Then people can go home. They seem to be better at home.” He says patients are more active at home and there is less risk of infection than in hospitals. The surgery takes a little more than an hour. In Laura’s case, it took no time to see why she needed it. Dr. Jones quickly shows us the problem. "That's completely worn out. She doesn't have any good cartilage to show you,” he explains as he holds the removed piece of bone in his hand.
Hours after surgery when the anesthesia wore off, Laura was up and walking with her new hip; even up and down stairs! "We actually find that they're healthier doing that and the recovery is faster, the sooner they start moving." We met up with Laura two weeks later at her post-operation appointment and she is moving around beautifully. "Amazing, I can barely believe it."
Dr. Jones says a wide variety of people are able to handle this outpatient option. It is more cost-effective, too. To learn more, log onto http://www.renoortho.com/.
