Naomi Kaltman

I’ve spent most of my adult life as a runner, swimmer and surfer. I’m now in my 50s. As a child and teen, I trained as a gymnast and dancer. After a typical surf session one beautiful November day in 2014, I felt a sudden, sharp pain in my right groin while getting out of my car. I could barely walk up the driveway to my house. Friends said I’d probably just “strained a muscle, not to worry." So I rested and hobbled around for a week. I even used crutches for a few days to avoid the bad twinges. After taking it easy, the dull pain ebbed, but then would flare again any time I upped my exercise or climbed stairs. Six weeks on, it still ached and now it hurt just to walk, or even lift or cross my leg. I was totally totally miserable both physically and mentally. I then realized that running hadn’t felt so great starting 3 years prior – I’d feel a twinge in my groin and have to slow down or walk. But I didn’t take the clue and see anyone then. A lesson learned.

I was blessed to be referred by a friend of mine with a similar lifetime of athletics to the amazing Dr. Robert Buly at HSS. Dr. Buly had performed 2 successful surgeries on my friend, hip and knee. After imaging and a consult, Dr. Buly diagnosed me with femoral acetabular impingement (FAI) and a torn labrum. Fortunately, he said I’d come in time and was still a good candidate for arthroscopic surgery to correct the impingement and repair my labrum. I was relieved but I had never had any major surgery so I was nervous. It speaks volumes that Dr. Buly gave me the confidence to move ahead and book my surgery right away! I had a seamless, successful procedure just weeks later that included microfracture to repair a small area with grade IV cartilage loss. I was walking without crutches at week 4, swimming distance again at month two. At the 5-month mark, I began surfing again without any notable discomfort; by 6 months, with more confidence and power and zero soreness. Now, at my 1 year mark, I surf with no awareness that anything was ever wrong in that hip. You would never know that I had hip surgery at all, except for the tiny “bug bite” scars on my thigh. It’s quite amazing!

I can’t say enough about what Dr. Buly has done for me. His personnel team were all outstanding – knowledgeable, prompt, caring and warm. In addition to being a gifted diagnostician and surgeon, Dr. Buly was calm and reassuring throughout. That meant the world to me. And his ‘predictive’ powers impressed me more than once. He accurately told me what I could expect to feel and be able to do at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, and 1 year post-op.

I am so grateful to Dr. Buly and to HSS. They are the best, and I know if I ever need them again, they will be there for me.

Thank you Dr. Buly! Thank you HSS!