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Patient Stories
Learn how our quality of care enhances our patient's quality of life
Dr. Berman
Hip Replacement Surgery
I am currently 58 years young. I have always kept myself in shape, but my fitness really started to take off in 2000 when I started doing martial arts. I ended up doing 5 years of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Thai Boxing. I also jogged shorter distances just to stay in shape, but in 2008 I decided to do a half marathon. After that, I wanted to do a full marathon. I did the Marine Corps Marathon that same year and qualified to do the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:20. Over the next two years, I did about six marathons, including the Boston Marathon twice (2009 and 2010) with a PR of 3:14.
Before I did my first Boston Marathon, I met Linda Ann Newsome (who is also featured on Dr. Peyton’s testimonial page) and she and her husband taught me how to ride and swim. They then signed me up to do an Ironman during my first year of tri-training. I did the CDA Ironman in 2010 and 2011 with a time of 12:12.
In 2013, I went to see Dr. Peyton because I knew my gait was off. He took x-rays and told me that I was going to need a hip replacement. I was hesitant because I had very little pain but he did not pressure me at all. He simply said, “You will know when the time is right”.
Well, by early 2015 I was limping often and was having referred pain to my knee. I had stopped all running for over two years. I had switched over to exercises such as yoga, TRX, and core training. However, my right hip was noticeably interfering even with these activities. I finally decided I was ready to have the total hip replacement as an outpatient.
Although I am a plastic surgeon, I was a bit nervous and wasn’t necessarily thrilled with being on the other side of the knife. I had the surgery at Dr. Peyton’s outpatient center, and it went very smoothly! The anesthesiologist was superb. I had a painless spinal and only remember going down the hall on the stretcher, then woke up in the RR. I was back at home by noon the same day. I have a very sensitive stomach so I actually avoided taking any narcotics at all for the entire post-op period. I am not sure that I would recommend skipping the painkillers, but I was able to do it. I started physical therapy the next day. My wife had to drive me to the first appointment, but I was able to drive myself to the next therapy appointment five days later! On day 8, I returned working in my office. Being a plastic surgeon, I do a lot of standing, so I only worked about four to six hours for the first week. By week 3, I was able to start exercising fairly rigorously (for the first two weeks, I only worked upper body lightly). I did my first (very cautious) yoga class at three weeks, but was able to get more aggressive the following week.
I get stronger every week and my range of motion continues to improve. I am only 3.5 months out from surgery and I know I am going to continue to improve for at least 3-9 more months. In fact, I just returned from a 10 day trip to Newfoundland, Canada where I was able to hike for five hours on some days.
I am thoroughly pleased with my success and I highly recommend Dr. Peyton and his team.