Our 96-year-old mother was living life in chronic hip pain. She endured several years with multiple cortisone injections until they became ineffective. The hip joint pain was becoming unbearable. Her quality of life was poor at best, dealing with constant pain. Other orthopedic doctors stated she was too old for hip replacement and offered other alternatives that provided no relief. She couldn’t walk or sleep comfortably and often just sat in a recliner. The family had to rely on the wheel chair more often when going outside the home.
We finally met with Dr. Bircher, who was referred to us by moms primary Doctor. He listened to the family’s concerns, goals, and mom’s quality of life. He took into consideration her entire health history and not just the number of her age! After basic pre-op testing, he saw no reason we couldn’t do a total hip replacement. While we all had our reservations for hip replacement surgery, especially since mom only had her tonsils removed at a very young age and no other surgery in her 96 years!
Surgery day came and while they were prepping her, she asked for a hospital chaplain. The chaplain got called away and could not visit beforehand and asked Dr. Bircher to say a prayer. Guess what, he did! He held hands with mom and our family and lead the prayer for his hands to guide him in a successful surgery.
Our mother’s surgery went perfect and she was up walking and feeling better the same night after surgery. Even at 96, she recovered quickly and is back in her home. She is walking free of pain, mainly with a walker for safety, but she often sneaks quick distances without any assistance. We never thought we’d see her walk without in excruciating pain again.
We highly recommend Dr. Bircher for his amazing surgical skills, communication, kindness, empathy, bedside manner. He’s an all-around a great man! Thank you, Dr. Bircher and your amazing support team!
