Bill Didlake

I had a left hip replacement by an orthopedic surgeon in my home city in 1998 and a right hip replacement in 1999. All seemed to be well and I went for 8 years without a problem. Then in 2006, while playing on the floor with my grandchildren, I dislocated my left hip. Although that was very painful, the hip was reset without difficulty in the hospital emergency room. Once again all was well for a time but almost exactly a year later I dislocated the hip again. Once again, it was reset in an ER.

After the third dislocation some 17 months later, the surgeon recommended and I agreed to a hip revision wherein he replaced the hip ball and socket liner and installed a constraint designed to keep the ball in the socket. Within days after the surgery I felt a "pop" in the hip; an x-ray revealed that the constraint had become dislodged and was just floating around the ball. Another dislocation ensued. This time the surgeon referred me to another local orthopedic surgeon whom be believed to have more training and expertise in hip surgery. That surgeon recommended yet another revision surgery wherein he would reorient the socket liner to a more horizontal position. Somewhat desperate by this point I accepted his recommendation and once again underwent surgery. Forty days later the hip popped out of joint, then again 42 days after that, and once more 2 months after that. Before this final dislocation I had already resolved to find the best place in the country to see if this problem couldn't be fixed once and for all.

A nationwide search led me to Hospital for Special Surgery and Dr. Douglas Padgett. When Dr. Padgett heard my story and examined me, he said he could fix it and the procedure he described was unlike that which either of the previous surgeons had recommended. I found I had the utmost confidence in Dr. Padgett and what he had to say so I chose to undergo the third revision surgery within a year.

As of this writing, I am about 5 months post surgery and all seems well. Although I am careful not to do anything stupid (like playing "horsy" on the floor with my grandchildren) I have once again developed confidence in the stability of the hip and I don't constantly live in fear that it's going to pop out of joint unexpectedly. I am very appreciative of Dr. Padgett and thankful for his skill and I fully expect this hip to last a lifetime.