Five years ago, Doug Cochran started noticing increased pain in both his left and right hip and was having trouble doing simple things like walking, driving or getting up out of his chair. “After working a desk job for 37 years, you don’t realize how debilitating it can be to have issues with mobility,” recalls Doug.
Doug’s primary care physician recommended he undergo physical therapy to help increase the strength in the muscles surrounding his hips and to hopefully improve his range of motion. While this provided some relief, Doug was still unable to walk for extended periods of time or take part in activities he had planned with his family including a trip to Mexico. After several weeks of physical therapy, his Physical Therapist suggested that he may want to consider a Total Hip Replacement.
Several years earlier, a family member had a Total Hip Replacement performed by a one of the Joint Replacement Specialists at Olympia Orthopaedic Associates and Doug was impressed by the outcome. Wanting to explore his options, Doug scheduled an appointment with Dr. Stephen Snow at Olympia Orthopaedic Associates. “When I met him, I was very comfortable. Dr. Snow was very knowledgeable and he gives you the facts,” said Doug. “We agreed it wasn’t going to get any better without surgery”.
After meeting with Dr. Snow, Doug decided to schedule a Total Hip Replacement for his left hip as this hip has more damage due to arthritis. He also knew that he would eventually need to undergo the same procedure for his right hip as well.
Traditionally, Total Hip Replacements have been performed as inpatient procedures and require several nights stay in a hospital. However, Doug was informed that he was a candidate for an Outpatient Joint Replacement procedure as part of Olympia Orthopaedic Associates unique Restore program. This program allows Total Joint Replacement procedures to be performed in Olympia Orthopaedic Associates state of the art surgical center and does not require any overnight hospital stays due to the less invasive approaches utilized by our Joint Replacement Specialists.
In April 2017, Doug underwent a Total Hip Replacement for his left hip with Dr. Snow. “I was only in a hospital once in my life but, compared to the hospital, Olympia Orthopaedic Surgery Center was a dream,” recalls Doug. “After surgery, they get you up and on your feet right away and you immediately notice that the pain is gone”.
Doug’s first surgery was so successful that he played golf with his wife just four weeks later with no pain. “I felt like I could have played golf after two weeks, but I made sure to listen to the doctor’s orders, “said Doug. “The recovery was so quick that I wanted to get my right hip done as soon as possible.”
Just a few short weeks later in June of 2017, Doug underwent an Outpatient Total Hip Replacement for his right hip with Dr. Snow. Just as was the case with his left hip, his right hip was now pain-free. Once again Doug was able to play golf a few weeks after his surgery and felt so good that he played a full round of golf 5 days in a row and walked the entire course each time. “To be honest, I have had dental work that felt more invasive than my hip replacements,” recalls Doug.
The now-retired Doug is looking forward to playing golf with his wife and spending time with his family. “There are only so many years in someone’s life and I wanted to be active for all of them,” said Doug.
The Total Joint Replacement Specialists at Olympia Orthopaedic Associates are the only team in the area offering Outpatient Joint Replacement procedures and have performed over 1,000 of these procedures in the past 5 years. If you are considering a Joint Replacement procedure, contact one our offices throughout Olympia to meet with one of our Joint Replacement Specialists so you can once again get “Your Life in Motion”.