Angela Reynar

Hip arthritis runs in my family - my mother, aunt and brother all had hip replacements in their 50s/early 60s - apparently due to very mild hip dysplasia. When I started to get hip pain in my mid-40s I was pretty sure where I was heading but I did lots of stretching and PT to hold it at bay which it did for a few years. But I got to the point by Christmas 2021 that I couldn't walk without a cane and had a hard time walking 100 yards without a lot of pain regardless of how many painkillers I was on. I had seen other surgeons (not at HSS) but they all said my arthritis was early stage and didn't need surgical treatment - regardless of my experience of the pain and inability to do most basic things such as bend down or walk without a lot of pain. One night when my hip was so bad that I was crying from the pain I went down and started Google searching for what I could do. I had a couple of people say that HSS was an amazing place, so I watched a video of 3 HSS surgeons discussing treatment options for "younger" hip replacement candidates. One of them was Dr. McLawhorn and I really liked his approach and attitude. I made an appointment and in reviewing my x-rays he immediately spotted where I was bone-on-bone in my left hip (due to the dysplasia) and we scheduled surgery at HSS Orthopedics with Stamford Health for late April 2022.

The surgery went great, the hospital and entire staff couldn't have been better and I was sent home with instructions to rest a lot, let the hip heal, walk a little each day but then to start slowly increasing the amount I walked.

I felt great from day 1 - the hip pain was gone. Obviously there was recovery to get through but I was patient and didn't push it. I followed the instructions of what I should and shouldn't do. 6 months later I was on a weeklong bike trip to Italy where I biked 6 days in a row and skied at Christmas. I do yoga and Pilates at least once every week and walk a few miles a day with my dog - all without pain! It's the most incredible transformation and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Dr. McLawhorn to you if you need a hip replacement. He really did change my life.