Total Hip Replacement Surgery:
A Patient Sucess Story
Fall 2004
Valeria Johnson-Braswell couldn't imagine
undergoing
hip replacement surgery just a few months before
going
on a Hawaiian vacation. So, she decided to put
it off for
another year.
Mrs. Johnson-Braswell,
39, is married, has a five year old son and works
as a self-employed sign
language interpreter. She
underwent hip replacement
surgery at Pennsylvania
Hospital in June 2004 for
degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis
of the left hip.
David
G. Nazarian, MD, a knee
and hip specialist and
director of hip surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital,
performed the surgery. “Dr.
Nazarian told me
to have this surgery last year. He said I'd
have a better
time in Hawaii. I decided to wait. I wish I knew
then what I know now. I feel great!”
Mrs. Johnson-Braswell's hip problem
developed as an adolescent. “When
I was about 12 years old, I was overweight, which
probably contributed to
my condition. I fell when I was 13 and had
to get surgery and pins put into my hip, so
the doctors told me my hip problem was most
likely related to those things.”
Over the
years, the
hip pain grew worse. “I lost weight and
initially my
hip got better, but the pain returned even after
losing
the weight.” “I was extremely limited
prior to the surgery. Going up
and down the steps was getting next to impossible,” said
Mrs. Johnson-Braswell.
Mrs. Johnson-Braswell said that a family trip
to Disney
World was extremely challenging because of her
painful
hip condition. She also found it hard to play
with her
young son. “When we would go to a local
park, he would
run and play while I sat down and watched him.
If we
went for a walk, it was very short. Anything
that required
more than a car ride or a very short walk was
just not
possible. It felt like I was 80 years old.”
An
orthopaedic surgeon in her hometown confirmed
that her painful hip condition was similar to
that of a
much older person and that she definitely needed
a hip
replacement. The other option was to remain on
pain
medications, but Mrs. Johnson-Braswell said she
took
many different medications over the years and
they no
longer relieved her pain. “I knew I had
to go through with
the surgery,” she said.
Mrs. Johnson-Braswell, a Jehovah's Witness, was
referred to the Center for Bloodless Medicine
and Surgery
(CBMS) at Pennsylvania Hospital after she determined
there were no physicians in her area that could
meet her
request for non-blood medical management.
“The
doctor near my home told me they would have to
take my blood and store it, which was unacceptable
to
me,” she said. “After
I met with Dr. Nazarian and told him that I was
a Jehovah's Witness, it was never an issue,” she
said.
Dr. Nazarian immediately sent Mrs. Johnson-Braswell
to see Patricia
Ford, MD, medical director of the
Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at
Pennsylvania Hospital, to have
her blood and iron levels checked before the
surgery.
Mrs. Johnson-Braswell made weekly trips
to the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery
at Pennsylvania Hospital
prior to her surgery to receive injections that
would help increase her red blood cell count
and build her iron levels. She
received her last injection a week before the
surgery. “I
had the surgery on a Tuesday. By Friday, I was
moving around all by myself. There were no issues.
I was fine,” she
said. “My experience with the Center for
Bloodless Medicine and Surgery was great. They
had great follow through with
keeping up with my appointments and paperwork.”
“It's
hard to believe that I recovered so quickly.
I had no idea I'd be this mobile. I
thought I'd be on crutches for a while,” she
said.
In retrospect, Mrs. Johnson-Braswell advises
others considering a joint
replacement to proceed with the surgery. “If
you need it, go ahead and get it done.
You will be in less pain after the surgery and
it will be well worth it.”
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