I am 76 years old and had an anterior right hip replacement done by
Dr. O'Neill. I had had a previous hip replacement done on the left side by another doctor using the posterior approach in 2009. Though the outcomes for both surgeries were positive, the recovery period for the anterior approach was considerably less painful and much shorter.
After the posterior surgery, I had to use a walker for a period of three to four weeks and a cane for several weeks beyond that. After a period of three months, I was still noticeably limping on that leg. With that recovery experience, I was not looking forward to repeating that procedure again when my right hip began to fail in 2013. To my good fortune, a friend at my church told me about her recent hip replacement which had been performed by Dr. O'Neill. She said that he had used an anterior approach which required a 5 inch incision in contrast to the eight or nine inch incision required in the posterior approach. She said her total recovery time was less than three weeks.
That sounded really positive to me, so I made an appointment to see Dr. O'Neill. When I met with Dr. O'Neill, I was immediately impressed with his very positive attitude. He thoroughly explained the anterior approach and showed me photos of previous patients who had the anterior surgery. I was amazed to see those patients walking only with a cane several days after their surgeries. In addition to Dr. O'Neill's positive attitude, I was impressed with his personality and patient relations. He was not the typical "surgical god" that some surgeons pretend to be. He was a real person.
Because I really liked Dr. O'Neill and his approach, I had my right hip replaced by him. After staying in the hospital for two days, I returned home to begin my recovery. To my amazement, after less than a week, I was walking using only a cane for support. Because I wanted to impress Dr. O'Neill when I went to see him for a nine day check-up, I walked into the exam room using no cane or walker. Since his staff was very impressed with my progress, they took some videos of me walking in the hall. I really had no pain and was walking with no limp.
In a short period of time after that, I was again able to play golf and to ice skate, two of my favorite activities which had been limited because of the hip pain. Though both of my replaced hips work well now, the process of getting to a functional level was totally different. If you are considering having a hip replacement, I would encourage you to consider the anterior approach. To my good fortune and to yours if you choose the anterior approach, no doctor is better qualified to perform the procedure than Dr. O'Neill.
